The Wizard's Duel
by Lee Velviet
Summary: Ginny has had it with Draco's 'evil' ways-what will he do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's duel? *Chapter 16 up!*
1. Default Chapter

1.1 The Wizard's Duel  
  
Author: Lee Velviet  
  
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net  
  
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)  
  
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)  
  
  
  
1.The Gauntlet Is Thrown  
  
  
  
"That's it!"  
  
Ginny tightened her hands into fists. Draco Malfoy had gone too far this time. Some one had to take matters into their own hands-someone had to teach that spoiled, stuck-up, close-minded evil rat a lesson!  
  
Three times in the last month, Malfoy had managed to get Harry and Ron in trouble-and Ginny was heartily sick of standing meekly by and seeing Ron and Harry so unfairly treated when she'd seen Malfoy orchestrate everything!  
  
Ron and Harry were staring after Snape miserably-they'd just received a weeks worth of detention, thanks to Malfoy-when they saw Ginny stomping past, her eyes narrowed, red curls flying.  
  
"What's with her?" Harry asked Ron curiously. It was odd to see such a fierce look of furious determination on such a small, sweet, freckled elfin- like face.  
  
"Who knows-she looks like that all the time at home-especially when Mum asks her to feed the chickens." Ron shrugged and turned away.  
  
It took Ginny several tries to get Draco Malfoy's attention-it wasn't that he was really trying to ignore her-he just didn't notice the small, fiery creature twittering angrily about under his superciliously aristocratic nose.  
  
Finally after dinner that evening, Ginny managed to corner the tall, pale sixth year boy in the Library.  
  
Draco was bent over his Potions homework when Ginny stalked up to him, her anger having not diminished in the slightest.  
  
She stood at his elbow, waiting impatiently for him to look up and notice her.  
  
After about two minutes of listening to his quill scrabbling against his parchment, an evil thought formed in her heated mind, and she reached over, grabbed his bottle of dark green ink, and simply upturned it over his halfway-completed assignment.  
  
"What the-" his pale eyes burned viciously into her as they flickered up, finally catching her from the corner of his eye.  
  
Ginny was too hacked off to pay any attention to the look of intense dislike he gave her. A small part of her was surprised at how good-looking he was up close, however. She'd never been this close to him before-  
  
"What the bloody hell were you thinking, you little rodent? Do you have any idea how long it's going to take me to redo that?" His voice was low and furious as his pale silvery eyes shot daggers at her.  
  
"I'm the rodent? Excuse me, but weren't you the one who made a fabulous white ferret in their fourth year?" Ginny dropped the empty bottle of ink on the table with a clatter. "And a rather talented one at that-bouncing and all. Too bad that's the only thing you've got going for you."  
  
He glared at her, almost as if he wasn't sure what to say. "Who are you? Oh, let me guess-" he stared pointedly at her flaming red curls. "Another Weasley, and a tiny one at that. Aren't you a fifth year? And you aren't any taller than that?" He looked her up and down in disgust. "If I were you, I'd complain to Dumbledore-obviously you're parents aren't feeding you enough. Suffering from malnutrition, I'd bet. What'd you're parents have to do this year to get your school things? Decide between food and books?"  
  
Ginny saw red at this point. So she did what she always did when she was angry with Ron for something or another-she pulled back her Mary Jane shod foot and kicked Malfoy in the knee rather brutally.  
  
"Ow!" He leaned down and grabbed his throbbing, bruised shin instantly, which Ginny had been anticipating, and when his face was level with hers, she drew back her small fist and let a punch fly straight into his eye.  
  
He howled and fell back in his chair, toppling noisily to the Library floor.  
  
Draco looked up through his one good eye and saw the evil little Weasley girl standing above him.  
  
Her little pointed, freckled face was tinged pink, her brown eyes narrowed threateningly. "That was for Ron and Harry!" She hissed menacingly. She reminded him of an evil doll as she stomped off, her robes and red curls flying.  
  
He looked up at the ceiling as Madam Pince came over to see what all the racket was. The librarian gasped.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy! Whatever has happened?"  
  
Draco reached up to probe the tender, puffy swelling beginning under his left eye, and groaned. "I think I got attacked by a prank –er, quill. Yeah, my quill-just started going crazy. Must e someone's idea of a joke." There was no way anyone was going to find out a fifteen year old girl, much less a Weasley, had done this to him.  
  
Madam Pince eyed the discarded, innocent looking Quill on the floor beside his head skeptically, and helped him up. "Well…I'll dispose of the-er, quill. You may go on to see Madam Pomfrey."  
  
Draco kept his head ducked as he left the library, seething. Payback was definitely in order-it didn't matter that he'd thoroughly deserved what she'd done to him-no one, especially not a girl, hit Draco Malfoy and got away with it.  
  
Draco cursed through his teeth as he pushed through the infirmary doors-the little Weasley was going to get a lesson about trying to run with the big dogs.  
  
Ginny was muttering under her breath as she swept along the hall towards the Gryffindor tower. She should have been pleased that she managed to get one back for Harry and Ron-but she couldn't rid herself of the guilt she felt whenever she remembered the look of shock and pain in Malfoy's eyes when she'd popped him.  
  
She ought to be feeling proud of herself for winning a mill with that prat Malfoy-Merlin knew he deserved it-but she had taken him by surprise. Had she fought dirty? Did it matter?  
  
She made a growling sound of annoyance and stomped across to the front of the fat lady's portrait. "Dungbombs!"  
  
The fat lady's pug nose twitched in distaste. "Really, dear-must get that password changed!"  
  
Ginny scowled as the Portrait swung outward, and she scowled even more fiercely when she had to push herself up on her tiptoes to reach her handholds to pull herself through the hole in the wall.  
  
The common room was quiet as she walked through-she paused to step over a stretched out Neville on the carpet-he'd apparently fallen asleep while doing his assignment in front of the fireplace. He was snoring loudly, causing several students in nearby chairs to shoot him dirty looks as they tried to complete their own work.  
  
Harry and Ron were playing a half hearted game of exploding snap at a table in the corner below a threadbare tapestry of the Gryffindor lion, who had temporarily abandoned his fierce pose, and was watching them with comical interest.  
  
Ginny walked over and sat on a low stool next to Ron. She rested her chin on her fists and her elbows on her knees.  
  
Harry looked over at her when she didn't say a word. "Hi, Ginny."  
  
She forced out a miserable hello.  
  
Ron looked at her, frowning. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
She weighed her options-tell Harry and Ron what she'd done, and probably get yelled at-for no self-respecting male would take kindly to a girl defending them-or pretend like nothing had happened.  
  
"Er-Snape. He…gave me a hard time again. He is such a boil on the butt of humanity." Which was the absolute truth.  
  
Harry laughed. "Boil on the butt-?" He chuckled, holding his stomach.  
  
"Yeah, tell him that to his face," Ron grumbled.  
  
Ginny sighed, feeling alternately angry and guilty. "I'm going to bed."  
  
"'Night." The two boys called absently.  
  
She gritted her teeth and went up to bed. So much for being a hero!  
  
TBC  
  
(A/N: Let me know what you think- your opinion matters! Thanks!) 


	2. 2. Retaliation!

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net  
  
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)  
  
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)  
  
  
  
2.Retaliation!  
  
Draco was feverishly plotting his revenge as he left the Infirmary, the glory of his black eye now just a memory.  
  
His temper had cooled significantly, and he'd gotten far past the thoughts of death and dismemberment-the little Weasley was just that, after all-a harmless little chit, little more than a child, really, and she'd caught him by surprise, was all.  
  
But she couldn't be allowed to think she could run about hitting people and getting away with it Scot-free. An evil smile twisted his lips-it was his duty to take her to task for her abhorrent behavior and obvious lack of manners. Even he, Draco Malfoy, had some semblance of honor-not much, granted, but it had been ingrained in him since birth. It was like that saying of his fathers-"Do unto others as you would have done unto you-then wait until their backs are turned."  
  
Draco stepped into the Slytherin common room, heading for his favorite chair before the fire. A positively nasty idea had formed in his devious mind, and he'd have to think on it-he gazed into the flames, oblivious to the arguments and fighting and absolute chaos going on around him with the other Slytherin students-he wondered what he excuse he could give Snape about not having that two foot long parchment on the effects of Billywig stings, and what ingredients would be needed to make a potion to counter any ensuing allergic reactions. Boring creatures, Billywigs…but they did have their uses…  
  
He wasn't terribly worried-Since Snape was head of Slytherin House, he doubted he'd bother taking points-in fact, he'd probably turn it around in that clever way of his, make it out to be Potters fault, and end up taking points from Gryffindor! He allowed himself a small grin at the thought and felt a bit better.  
  
He couldn't wait to see the look on the littlest Weasley's face in the morning at Breakfast…  
  
Draco sat at his table the next morning; yawning-he'd gotten up much earlier than usual, and was paying for it. But if things turned out the way he'd planned, suffering through his classes half-asleep would be well worth it.  
  
Half way through breakfast, Draco heard a loud shriek and had to cover his mouth his hand to hide the huge grin. Several gasps were heard, and he looked up as everyone around him did the same, his eyes widening-  
  
The little hell sprite Weasley girl was floating several feet above the Gryffindor table, looking absolutely terrified-around her, a handful of tiny, sapphire blue creatures zoomed, moving so fast Draco could barely keep up with them-but of course he knew exactly what they were-Billywigs, liberated by his own hand from the jars in Snape's classroom, and placed beneath Ginny's chair with a timed petrifying spell.  
  
Apparently they weren't terribly happy about being charmed-Draco watched the annoyed creatures sting the girl again before drifting off, leaving her floating higher and higher, yelping incredulously.  
  
Draco had to duck under the table to hide his near hysterical laughter-he could hear Professor McGonagall shouting, and Potter and Ron Weasley yelling-Snape would know exactly who had done this, no doubt-but Draco had no worries-he'd think it was just as amusing.  
  
Draco looked back up after a few moments, his cheeks pink and flushed from laughter-he was unprepared for the unfamiliar, unwanted and unexpected jolt of guilt he felt when he saw the little Weasley being pulled from the Great Hall, weighed down by Potters and Ron's hands around her ankles as they followed an unhappy looking McGonagall from the Hall-all over, students were snickering, and pointing-the red-haired girl had her hands over her face, and he could see tears of humiliation seeping out between her fingers.  
  
Disgusted by his feelings of regret, Draco sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. What did he have to feel sorry about? She'd deserved it- maybe it would teach her a lesson.  
  
Draco pushed the thoughts of the girl to the back of his mind, determined to forget he ever found out she'd existed, and went on about his day as usual.  
  
  
  
Ginny returned to her classes thankfully, after a full week of being strapped to a bed in the infirmary to keep from floating off. The Billywig stings effects had finally worn off-but her embarrassment and anger hadn't.  
  
Draco Malfoy had been behind it, she knew-who else would have done something so mean, and stupid, not to mention dangerous? Madame Pomfrey had told her that if she'd been stung enough times, she might have had a severe allergic reaction-and ended up floating permanently!  
  
Ginny walked into the hall for breakfast, head held high, and shot Malfoy a promising glare as she stomped past his table-her temper soared when he smirked at her, his pale eyes narrowed.  
  
Forget Harry and Ron-it was really personal now! Ginny took her seat at the table, unable to keep herself from looking down to make sure there were no nasty surprises lurking in wait. She glanced up to see Malfoy chuckling at her across the way. Ginny smiled sweetly, raising a hand as if in a wave-and instead sent him a rather rude gesture.  
  
She had the satisfaction of seeing his smirk drop before Harry and Ron took their seats across from her, thankfully obscuring him from her sight.  
  
Ginny thought about her plan for revenge-she'd had a whole week to think on it, after all, and bit back a grin at the thought of Malfoy's reaction-she wished she'd be able to see the look on his narrow, pointy face.  
  
All she needed now was an opportunity.  
  
Her chance for retaliation came sooner than expected-Late that night; Ginny grabbed her wand and crept past a snoozing Filch and Mrs. Norris on her way to the Slytherin Dungeon.  
  
She grimaced as she passed Snape's darkened classroom, not looking forward to his class the next day at all.  
  
The Marauder's Map she'd "borrowed" from Harry's trunk earlier showed her that Malfoy was in the boy's bathroom just off the hall across from the Slytherin Dungeons-really, she wondered, who bathed this late?  
  
Ginny stifled a giggle as she whispered, "Mischief managed!" and rolled up the map into her sleeve. She snuck into the bathroom silently, pausing to peer around the first stall-at the other end of the room, a door that had a brass plaque on it reading 'Showers' stood slightly ajar.  
  
Ginny crept forward, and then through the door, her wand out, a huge smile tugging at her lips. Sure enough, through the warm steam, she heard a shower running.  
  
Splashing noises accompanied by low muttering could be heard-her nose wrinkled and she rolled her eyes as she heard him say her name-she almost got the wrong idea before she peeked around door to the stall in curiosity. Her eyes widened and every thought flew out of her head as she stared at the pale, lean muscled sleekness that was Draco Malfoy-she watched the water run in sluices down his perfect body, felt her throat become tight- his voice became more clear, and she realized he was singing lazily, and wholly off key, an old song that just happened to have her name it.  
  
After a moment, Ginny shook her head disgustedly; so what if Malfoy had a killer body? He had a black heart, and an evil mind, and checking him out was certainly not was she was here for-  
  
Ginny caught herself on a sigh and bit her lip-she hoped fervently he didn't turn his front to her-the embarrassment would finish her off, she knew. Who'd have thought he'd have such an amazing bod?  
  
Ginny narrowed her eyes determinedly, and pointed her wand at the showerhead above him. "Frigidulous!"  
  
"Yeeeeeooow! What the-Mother of-!"  
  
Curses rang out behind her as Ginny let out a loud, nervous squealing giggle, and performed a locking charm on the stall door. She heard him shout her name as he rattled the door, trying to escape the frigid water.  
  
"That's it, Weasley! You aren't getting any mercy!" He shouted, his voice trembling from the cold.  
  
"Aww, what's the matter, Malfoy? Are you cold?" Ginny giggled again.  
  
Malfoy yelled some rather unpleasant curses, voicing his intentions about what he was going to do to her when he got out-Ginny found herself stepping back from the pounding on the stall door, an unsure look on her face.  
  
What she said next surprised even her. "All right, Malfoy-enough of this back and forth stuff-I propose a Wizard's Duel-that'll put an end to this!"  
  
The door stopped rattling.  
  
Ginny stepped forward, concerned. "Malfoy?" Perhaps she'd made the water too cold-  
  
A howling laugh came from the other side of the door.  
  
Ginny frowned. What was he laughing at?  
  
The bathroom reverberated with his laughter, and Ginny felt it deep in her chest.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" She demanded, thrown.  
  
"Y-You! Challenging-hahahha, maahaaaaaa-m-me, to a d-duel! Hahhhhhaaahahhhhaaa!"  
  
"What's so funny about that?"  
  
"Y-you're a g-girl!" He howled again, despite the freezing water spilling down on him.  
  
"So?" Ginny stomped her foot. "Stop laughing!" She scowled angry. "What? Are you scared?"  
  
This made him laugh even harder. He couldn't even talk.  
  
"So do you agree or not?"  
  
"N-no way! Do you have any idea how many people would make fun of me for lowering myself to duel with you?" There was a loud splash as he tried to cover the showerhead with his hand. "Now unlock the sodding door before I get really pissed off!"  
  
"No!" Ginny was thoroughly furious by now. "Not until you agree to the duel. We'll keep it nice and private-no one has to know!"  
  
"Forget it, Weasel-It's ridiculous, the whole idea-I'd end up killing you, and as appealing as the thought is to me right now, I have no desire to end up in Azkaban just for you!" The door rattled violently. "Let me out! I'm going to catch bloody pneumonia in here! Do you hear me? Do you want my death on your hands?"  
  
Ginny snorted loudly, crossing her arms. "Do you really think I care? Now agree to the duel, or I leave you here to freeze your-er, unmentionables off!"  
  
"Unmentionables? Ha! Forget it!"  
  
"Fine! See you around!" Ginny kicked the door and walked off.  
  
"Son of a-Weasley! WEASLEY! Get back here! Damn it!"  
  
Draco entered the Great Hall with the temper of a demon the next morning. The story about how Filch had found him butt-naked and half-frozen in a shower stall late last evening had gotten around like wildfire-he glared murderously at anyone who dared look his way.  
  
He caught the eye of Ginny Weasley, and she had the audacity to smile at him! He growled in her general direction and sat down at his table.  
  
Ginny bit back a chuckle at Malfoy's attitude-here she'd been feeling guilty for leaving him the freezing shower, and he was growling across the room at her.  
  
Harry and Ron showed up a few minutes later as she sipped her orange juice.  
  
They were both laughing over Malfoy's misfortune.  
  
"I wish I had been there," Ron was cackling, tipping sausages onto his plate.  
  
Harry grinned, his eyes twinkling in merriment. "I wish I had thought of it-it's about time he got his."  
  
"Yep! I wish I knew who did it-I'd like to shake his hand!"  
  
Ginny wanted to stand up and yell that she'd done it at this point. She looked at her plate miserably.  
  
Harry looked at oddly. "What's the matter, Gin?"  
  
Ron narrowed his eyes. "I'd have thought you'd be hysterical over all this-what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Harry looked across at Malfoy-he was glaring daggers across at Ginny.  
  
"Ginny…"  
  
"Yes?" Ginny was ripping her napkin to shreds.  
  
"You did it, didn't you?"  
  
"Er-Yes?" She didn't look up-her voice was a small squeak.  
  
Ron's fork clattered to his plate. "Ginny!"  
  
"What?" She looked up, annoyed. "He deserved it!"  
  
"You went into the boys' showers? You must have seen-oh, lord." Ron's face burned pink and he shut his mouth abruptly.  
  
Harry looked at her as if she'd grown horns.  
  
"What would Mum say?" Ron hissed, scandalized.  
  
"About what?" Ginny looked up as Hermione joined them, an open book in hand.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
Ginny got up from the table, rolling her eyes. "I'm not a baby, Ron!"  
  
She stormed off to class, feeling irritated. She wondered if Ron would spill the beans on her-damn, it was all Malfoy's fault!  
  
Ginny was leaving Potions thankfully, the last one out after cleaning up her cauldron, when she ran into Draco Malfoy in the hallway.  
  
She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat as she stared up into his chilling eyes.  
  
"I'm waiting, Weasley."  
  
His low, unsettling voice caught her off guard.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
"I'm waiting-for my apology." He stood, crossing his arms over his chest, blocking her way.  
  
"A-apology?" Ginny frowned. "Yeah, right. That's going to bloody happen."  
  
He sneered at her. " I want that apology. Now, Weasel."  
  
"No way! That's about as likely as my getting a million Galleons!" She laughed suddenly, ducking past him. "You'll get you're apology when I get my million galleons!"  
  
Ginny walked away, shaking her head. "He's the one who started it! Why should I apologize?"  
  
Furious at Ginny's refusal to apologize, Draco stalked to the Owlery and scribbled out a note, which he sent immediately. So, the little rodent wanted a duel, did she? She was about to get the humiliation of her life!  
  
Ginny was doing her homework while she ate her dinner in the Great Hall that evening when the letter arrived-she got several curious looks as the gray screech owl drifted down and then out, leaving the yellow envelope on her plate.  
  
Ginny opened the letter cautiously, her heart freezing when she read the unfamiliar, slanting scrawl in green ink.  
  
"Who's that from?" Ron demanded, his mouth full of potatoes.  
  
"Er-a friend," Ginny said in a slight panic, slipping the note between the pages of a book hurriedly.  
  
Ron snorted, looking skeptical, while Harry and Hermione carried on chatting.  
  
Ginny left the hall soon after, her heart thudding nervously against her ribs-Malfoy had finally agreed to the duel-what was she going to do?!  
  
TBC (To Be Continued…)  
  
(Hi, thanks for the reviews, all! As to Ginny being OOC-sorry about that! But she's having to deal with Draco Malfoy-that would make anyone act oddly, and with attitude! ^-^ My Ginny has always been a little stronger than the one in the book-I just look at her as having been shy in the past, yes-but she was just a kid, and she's kind of come into her own with age- look at what old Voldie/Tom Riddle put her through-there's no way she got out of that unchanged. I'm sure not many people can say they met up with Voldie and still live to tell about it. What else has she got to fear? Questions, comments welcome! Thanks!) 


	3. 3. The Duel

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net  
  
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)  
  
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)  
  
3. The Duel  
  
The next day, after suffering through most of an amazingly bad Potions class, Ginny got a note from Professor McGonagall-Snape, of course, had sent her on-but not before taking points from Gryffindor for the interruption of his class.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes as she left-she wondered what McGonagall wanted to see her about-  
  
A gasp caught in her throat as she looked up after closing the classroom door and saw Draco standing near, his eyes fairly snapping at her.  
  
Ginny crossed her arms. "What do you want? I already sent the reply about the duel-set the place and time and I'm there." She was proud of how steady her voice sounded.  
  
Draco narrowed his eyes at her, his voice threatening as he said warningly, "My apology, little Weasley-or I'll make your life miserable. I'm giving you one more chance-only because you're a kid-and you have no idea what you're about."  
  
"I'm almost sixteen years old, Malfoy, and I know entirely what I'm about. Do you want to know what I'm about?" Her lashes swept across her eyes suddenly, and she brushed up against him, pushing her lips against his ear even as her skin crawled in revulsion-she had to admit, though, he did smell good. She felt his arms close on her arms although he made no move to push her away.  
  
She swore she felt a shiver run through him and she whispered, amused, "I think you can tell I'm no kid. So," she pushed away from him, curling her lip. "Do your worst Malfoy. As I said before-you'll get your apology when I see my million Galleons." She laughed at the dark look on his pale face and stalked off just as students began pouring out of Snape's class on their way to their next course.  
  
Ginny snuck a look back once or twice and saw Malfoy standing in the crowd of students with his hands fisted at his sides, looking murderous.  
  
  
  
"Ron, we've got to do something about Ginny," Harry said, pale faced as he met his friends in the courtyard.  
  
Ron looked up from a book Hermione was showing him and frowned. "What happened?"  
  
Harry swallowed, looking distinctly green. "I saw her and Malfoy-" he closed his eyes, looking ill.  
  
"What?" Hermione sat forward on her bench, eyes intent. "Fighting?"  
  
Harry made a noise.  
  
"Arguing?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Kissing?" Ron looked at Hermione as if she had grown two more heads and a forked tongue.  
  
Harry made a gurgling noise and ducked his head between his knees.  
  
"Oh, wow. I mean, I knew she'd been acting weird lately, but-"  
  
Ron looked furious. "She's gone totally nutters!"  
  
He stood up. "I'll bloody kill him! She'd just a kid!"  
  
Hermione tugged him back down. "Will you be quiet? Do you really want everyone to know?"  
  
He sat down reluctantly, fisting his hands. "This is too weird."  
  
By then, Harry had recovered enough to look up and say, "I didn't see them kissing, exactly-"  
  
Hermione nudged Ron, "There, you see? Nothing to worry about-"  
  
"But they looked more like they were making out-"  
  
"Oh." Hermione went red and didn't say anything else, going back to her book.  
  
Ron looked green now. "Oh, that's just wrong."  
  
Harry managed a nod. "We have to do something."  
  
"Er…maybe you should just leave it be." Hermione said in a small voice from behind her great book. It was quiet for so long that she looked out from around it and saw the two of them staring back at her mutely. "Oh come on!" She closed the book and put it down beside her. "You don't think I'm as concerned about her as you? It is weird-but opposites attract, right? Maybe this is a good thing…although; I do think Ginny is a little too young to be making out in the Astronomy Tower."  
  
Ron turned bright red; right to his ears when she said this and Harry narrowed his eyes. "I never said anything about seeing them in the Astronomy Tower-they were right in front of Snape's classroom-oh, not you guys too!"  
  
Ron pinched Hermione. "See what you did? And you're supposed to be the smart one!"  
  
Hermione shoved him off the edge of the bench. He landed with a thud on the grass. "Shut it, you ninny."  
  
Harry shook his head grinning despite his shock. Somehow this wasn't a surprise.  
  
  
  
Ginny looked at the professor; trying her best to pay attention-but she was tired. She held back another yawn, blinking.  
  
"Do you understand what I'm saying, Miss Weasley?"  
  
Ginny had no idea what the good woman had been saying, so she just nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."  
  
"Good."  
  
Ginny rose from her seat to leave, but McGonagall stood, red faced, and handed her a pamphlet. "Don't forget-er, this."  
  
"Oh. Right." Sleepily, Ginny took the paper, and slipped out into the hall, shaking her head over the very odd encounter. What had all that been about? She didn't think she'd ever seen Professor McGonagall so flustered.  
  
She looked down at the pamphlet and an odd gurgling noise escaped her strangled throat.  
  
"Oh, my God!"  
  
  
  
Ginny had wanted to skip dinner entirely-but the growl in her stomach had reminded her she had skipped lunch that day. She didn't know how her body could actually want food-that pamphlet McGonagall had given her had all but made her ill with embarrassment.  
  
How could the woman think she was interested in having Sex? At that instant Draco Malfoy's smirking face swam before her eyes and a queer, rushing tingle ran across her skin, making her shudder slightly.  
  
No way.  
  
It came to her then-someone had seen her step close to Malfoy in the dungeons earlier-it was the only explanation for McGonagall's odd behavior.  
  
Ginny made a face as she glared at her mashed potatoes-as if she'd ever-she couldn't possibly want to-the thought had never even crossed her mind! There was no way she'd ever think of Draco Malfoy in that manner-and besides, she was far from being ready for that-that, ewww, she didn't even want to think about it. The whole idea was ridiculous!  
  
She found herself looking across the tables at Malfoy from beneath her lashes-she shook her head, stabbing a roll with her fork viciously enough to make Harry, seated next to her, flinch.  
  
  
  
If anyone noticed how quiet Ginny was, it was Ron. Of course, he was still reeling over the fact she'd been snogging-or whatever they'd been doing-Draco Malfoy in the bloody dungeons.  
  
He looked across at his baby sister, who looked red-cheeked and miserable, and wondered if going to McGonagall after finding out Ginny had seen Malfoy in the showers had been the right thing to do. He'd been worried about her. Now it seemed like it had been the right thing to do-and just in time, considering what Harry had seen that day. McGonagall had seemed the appropriate choice-as they was certainly no way he'd even approach his little sister about-well, THAT. Of course, Ginny could never find out he'd done it-she'd have his nuts in a tree, no doubt.  
  
No, she wouldn't find out-but he'd done it for her own good. He could only hope McGonagall had straightened her out-honestly, what has she been thinking, groping about with that Slytherin prat? He'd thought she'd hated Malfoy with a dark passion.  
  
Nope, er, passion was not the best word to use here.  
  
Ron narrowed his eyes when he caught Ginny looking subtly across the table over his shoulder-damn that Malfoy. There was no way he was letting that slimy git touch his innocent baby sister!  
  
Draco noticed he was getting a lot of attention from the Gryffindor table- Ginny was watching him from beneath her lashes, Potter was eyeing him in disbelief, and Ron-well, if looks could kill…  
  
He wondered if the little Weasley's friends had found out about the duel.  
  
He wondered if she'd have the nerves to actually go through with it-he was counting on her chickening out, so he could hold it over her head for the rest of the year. It would prove to be very amusing, he had no doubt-the chit needed a lesson in complete, utter humility.  
  
She had to learn that one didn't go around teasing dragons.  
  
  
  
"Man, what's up with the owls around here lately?" Ron ducked as a large, sleek looking dark owl swept low over his head, dropping a sealed envelope onto Ginny's dinner plate. He looked across at Ginny, whose eyes had suddenly grown as large and round as dinner plates.  
  
"Who's that from?"  
  
Ginny looked at him, slightly panicked, and took a shuddering breath-"I- have to go!"  
  
Ron watched Ginny snatch the envelope and rush off, his eyes confused.  
  
"What is up with her?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "If you'd been that close to Malfoy, wouldn't you be acting oddly?"  
  
Ron shuddered.  
  
  
  
Ginny locked herself into the bathroom in her dorm, and laid the envelope with the now familiar green ink and scrawling writing on the sink. She tried to slow her gasping breaths, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was white, her freckles standing out dreadfully. Her long red curls were tangled and flyaway, and her eyes looked wild, wide and dark.  
  
"I'm not afraid of him, I'm not afraid of him, I'm not afraid of him." Ginny grabbed either side of the sink with both hands, holding on for dear life. She wasn't afraid of Draco Malfoy-so why was the thought of meeting him with wands drawn making her shake like a newborn kitten?  
  
After assuring herself that she wasn't going to throw up, Ginny reached a cold, clammy hand out to the deceptively innocent looking envelope.  
  
She hissed as a paper cut sprang up on her pinkie, and she put the stinging digit in her mouth as she unfolded the note and read it.  
  
Weasley-  
  
Meet me at Midnight in the Astronomy Tower-you may want to have someone notify your next of kin. I don't believe I need to remind you that this is to be a Private Duel.  
  
Draco Malfoy  
  
  
  
"Notify my-" Ginny swallowed a hard lump and crumpled the paper in her fist. He's just trying to scare me, she told herself. Too bad he's succeeding, a tiny voice said as if from far away.  
  
"I bet he'd love to see me not show up," she muttered, and began splashing cold water on her face to wake her up. He'd laugh like mad, and she'd never hear the end of it!  
  
Anger making her brave, Ginny tossed the note into the waste bin and marched from the room to do something as mundane as her homework before leaving to meet Malfoy later.  
  
  
  
Her wand was polished, her robes and hair neat and clean, and she felt as if she were going on a date-except that maybe her date was Fluffy. Ginny let herself out of the portrait silently, trying not to think about where she was going and why.  
  
The climb to the Astronomy Tower was long much longer than she ever remembered it being – she found herself almost hoping that Filch would come along with his blasted cat and catch her-but wouldn't you know it-he was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Malfoy probably bribed him, she thought evilly as she approached the top of the steps-he didn't want any possible witnesses-  
  
The door swung open silently before she even touched it-Malfoy stood there, looking tall and handsome in his school robes-Ginny wanted to slap herself for thinking that last part. He wasn't handsome-he was detestable- evil-her eyes settled on the wand in his hand-and dangerous.  
  
She noticed he looked surprised to see her.  
  
Then his silvery opal colored eyes hardened and he snapped, "You're late!"  
  
Ginny bit back a growl. "I'm a girl-what did you expect?"  
  
He stepped back from the doorway to let her pass, his lips drawn tight.  
  
She stepped through the doorway and heard him close the door behind her.  
  
"Well, well…"  
  
She turned to look at him, pasting a look of indifference onto her face.  
  
He stood before her, his arms crossed. "Looks like I've finally got you where I want you, Weasel."  
  
Ginny gripped her wand tightly. "If you think I'm going to be a total pushover, you're dead wrong." Pleeeease let him be dead wrong!  
  
Malfoy lowered his arms to his sides, his pale eyes cold. "On the count of three then?"  
  
Ginny nodded, biting her lip, feeling her palms begin to sweat.  
  
"One,"  
  
Ginny ran through every prayer she knew in that second.  
  
"Two,"  
  
She watched his fingers twitch on his wand, and felt her own do it in response.  
  
"Three!"  
  
Before she could take a breath, he had shouted, "EXPELLIARMUS!"  
  
Ginny watched her wand in horror as it was jerked from her grip and flew directly into his outstretched hand.  
  
He looked from it to her, a nasty grin on his face.  
  
Ginny involuntarily took a step back-her foot caught on something, and before she knew it, slipped out from under her, and she went flying backwards, arms wind milling helplessly in the air.  
  
"Watch it!"  
  
His warning was the last thing she heard before her head struck something hard and black lights exploded before her eyes.  
  
TBC  
  
(I will be updating this today after I sleep a bit, of course. Expect the next chapter soon! Thanks for the reviews, all! ^-^) 


	4. 4.Rumors

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net  
  
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)  
  
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)  
  
(I have three words-Big Fat Liar. I know I promised to have this updated yesterday-but I have a really valid reason-1. I fell asleep before I finished, and 2. I'm glad I did, because it was two pages of dull, boring crap! Of course, some people may think the rest of my stuff is dull; boring crap-but was I making a point here somewhere? Oh, yeah-I couldn't believe I'd written it-it sucked monkey balls, to quote Ginny. So forgive me for this being late-and I sincerely hope you guys like this. P.S. To The Reviewer- Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named; I love the name! ^-^ Sorry about the cliffie!)  
  
7. Rumors  
  
Draco rolled his eyes in disgust at her clumsiness but found himself on his knees next to the girl in an instant-he winced as he pulled her across his knees, feeling her scalp gingerly-there it was, an egg sized lump rising behind her right ear. He pulled his fingers back, noticing with relief that there was no blood on them; further investigation revealed that was breathing normally, and he pulled his hands away from her, dismissing the fact that they were shaking quite badly.  
  
He looked into her pale face, feeling both annoyed that she'd dragged him into all of this-and positively ill to his stomach. What the hell was he supposed to do?  
  
He sighed and looked at the door longingly. If it had been Potter, he'd have gone without a second thought, and would probably have been sleeping in his bed quite peacefully by now.  
  
"Why'd you have to be a girl?" He grouched hatefully at her closed eyelids. "I'd have snuck a potion that would have turned you into a warty toad into your juice that morning after the scene in the library and would have been done with it." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hell, I should have done that anyway."  
  
She remained stubbornly silent. "Leave it to a girl to be so damned inconvenient. And here I had a lovely curse in mind that would have turned your hair into snakes." He sighed regretfully. He'd been dying to try that one out, too…oh, well, the next time Pansy got annoying it would be handy. He figured he'd see how well it worked by the end of the week…  
  
"I sincerely hope this sudden stupid tendency of mine to act brainless around you is just a stage." Draco pocketed their wands and lifted her into his arms, shaking his head, wondering why the hell he was talking to an unconscious person. He really ought to just leave her-it wasn't his fault she'd knocked herself silly. Try as he might, though, he couldn't talk himself into abandoning her.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey may as well make the place our personal flat as often as we end up there." The cold calmness of his voice was belied by the haste in his footsteps as he carried her down to the Infirmary. He pushed away the odd vision of the two of them living together-it didn't even make him nauseous, and that discomfited him.  
  
"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey shook her head as she examined the swelling on the side of Ginny's head.  
  
"I found her on the stairs-I was coming down to the kitchens for a snack-" he said this guiltily, as if he were very embarrassed at having been caught. He knew Pomfrey thought he was a sickly looking fellow-she'd constantly been trying to make him eat one thing or another last year, before he'd finally hit a growth spurt-at any other time he would have been very insulted-but he was glad of it at the moment.  
  
"I think she might have slipped and fell or something."  
  
The older woman looked at him appraisingly. Finally she smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to see you're finally trying to eat more than usual." She turned away to collect her wand, Draco allowed his charming facade to slip in his relief, and he rolled his eyes behind her back. Gullible cow, he mentally sneered.  
  
Draco looked down at the girl, finding himself staring at the shape of her eyes, their velvety golden brown color-had they always been that striking, he wondered, as she groaned and her long eyelashes fluttered.  
  
He stepped away from her, frowning in displeasure. Striking? Right, Weasley had striking eyes, now-he needed to go knock himself over the head and go the hell to sleep. He rubbed his temple and bit back the curse of impatience on his tongue.  
  
"She's waking up, Madame Pomfrey," he growled at the woman's ample backside.  
  
The witch turned around and smiled down at the girl.  
  
"Ginny? Can you hear me?"  
  
Ginny opened her eyes, flinching away from the light. "W-what happened?" She tried to move her head and squinted in pain. "Where am I?"  
  
"The Infirmary, dear. Mr. Malfoy brought you-said he found you on the stairs-do you remember what happened?"  
  
Ginny's eyes shot over to meet his. He looked back at her coolly, then pointedly looked away and began boredly examining his perfect fingernails.  
  
"Er-I-it was stupid of me, really-I'd realized I'd left a book down in the Charms classroom, and went to get it-I must have tripped-or fallen or something." She saw Malfoy begin to make nasty faces over Pomfrey's shoulder, and sighed, beating back an insane urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey-I just didn't want to have to post my parents about having lost a book." She saw Draco roll his pale eyes expressively and wanted to pound his face again.  
  
"Don't fret dear-I think we can take care of this nasty lump in just a moment. Mr. Malfoy, I think you should head on to bed-Miss Weasley will have to stay here for the night for observation."  
  
Draco nodded, his face earnest. He looked at Ginny and stepped forward to pat her hand. "I'm glad you'll be all right-you scared me back there." His eyes said something entirely different.  
  
Lying little snake, Ginny thought through the pounding of her head. "Thanks for helping me, Draco," she used his first name deliberately, watching his eyes cloud. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble." The sickly sweetness of her tone had him clenching his fists.  
  
He smirked at her, his lips curling unpleasantly. "No trouble at all-I barely even noticed you were there. It's a good thing your hair is such a bright shade of red-I may have passed you by completely."  
  
Ginny smiled, showing far too many teeth, her eyes fiery.  
  
Draco looked at her, on the verge of laughing, and finally left the room.  
  
Ginny's eyes actually hurt from the look of vehemence she sent after him. She closed them, and then looked up to watch Madame Pomfrey nervously- had she really believed all that?  
  
It appeared that she had-Malfoy was obviously an accomplished liar. Big surprise.  
  
A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey left her to sleep, and Ginny rubbed the area where the lump had been behind her ear, relieved that the throbbing ache had disappeared.  
  
She wondered why Malfoy had bothered to help her.  
  
She wondered what she'd hit her head on.  
  
Ginny groaned abruptly and rolled her head on the pillow.  
  
She wondered if she could survive slapping herself silly right now-because she'd just had the thought that it was too bad Malfoy was such an ass-her hand had tingled like mad when he'd touched it.  
  
Ginny rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow-brain damage. It had to be brain damage.  
  
  
  
Classes the next day were a blur-Ginny kept seeing Malfoy wherever she went, and she wondered why she kept looking out for him. She supposed she was waiting for the taunts to begin-she'd wielded her wand with the finesse of a Garden Gnome the night before, and Draco Malfoy wasn't the type to let her live it down.  
  
Ginny dragged herself into her bed that night with the full intention of sending Malfoy an owl, demanding a rematch.  
  
  
  
Ginny dragged herself out of bed the next morning with the full intention of hiding in a closet and not showing her face until that sodding prat Malfoy had graduated.  
  
"It has to be brain damage-temporary insanity," she moaned, straggling along into the bathroom.  
  
She'd dreamed of Malfoy all night long, and it had been unreal, the things he'd said to her, the way he'd looked at her-he'd called her 'Gin'. It still gave her a peculiar tingle.  
  
She caught herself sighing and she abruptly washed her face with cold water- the shock of it still didn't send the warm, fuzzy images away.  
  
She brushed her teeth slowly, squinting sleepily at herself in the mirror. She finally decided she was either sick from the blow to her head, or very disturbed.  
  
"Good Morning, Ginny," Hermione entered the door behind her, yawning through her hand. She put her things on the sink next to Ginny and smiled apologetically. "I hope you girls don't mind sharing-the bathroom in the seventh years dorm wasn't working properly this morning."  
  
Ginny rinsed her mouth. "I don't think it will matter much-the others have already gotten up-they were gone when I woke."  
  
"Oh." The older girl disappeared into the showers.  
  
Ginny was brushing her curls into a loose ponytail when Hermione returned.  
  
"So…what happened with you and Malfoy the other night?"  
  
Ginny looked at her sharply, almost losing her hold on her brush. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I-er…Ginny, everyone's been talking about it." Hermione looked at her with a wince. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything-you know I don't gossip-I was just concerned-"  
  
A cold hand wrapped around Ginny's heart-"What? What has everyone been talking about?"  
  
"You know-about how you and Malfoy have started seeing each other?" Hermione looked at her glumly.  
  
Her mouth fell open so wide it her chin brushed her chest. She tried to speak but all that came out was a dry croak.  
  
"Oh." Hermione said again, looking embarrassed. "So you didn't know."  
  
Ginny's eventual outraged shriek could be heard for several floors.  
  
  
  
Draco laughed out loud when he heard the rumors-it had only been a matter of time, after all, after what had happened the other night.  
  
He stopped laughing when he realized how many people had begun to embellish and embroider the tale of how he'd taken her to the Infirmary.  
  
He'd listened to two Hufflepuff girls gossiping in the library about it-and had been horrified to hear that instead of simply having taken the Weasel to Pomfrey for care, he'd been on the verge of proposing to her on the stairs when she'd lost her footing and been knocked unconscious.  
  
Another popular myth flying about was that he'd been seeing her secretly for months, and they'd had a lover's spat, and he'd tried to murder her on the stairs.  
  
Draco had stopped laughing by the end of the third day of this. He was almost ready to march himself straight to Dumbledore and tell the man exactly what had been going on, just to set the record straight.  
  
A lover's spat, he thought with a disgusted snarl. As if he'd ever love Ginny Weasley, the contrary little wretch, not to mention the fact that his Father would have his rocks in a box on his desk.  
  
  
  
Ginny passed Malfoy in the halls right after lunch on the fourth day and received a look so full of loathing that she stopped in her tracks and simply stared after him. This had gone too far-she dropped her book bag and raced after him, jumping in front of him.  
  
"So-from the look I just received, I'm assuming you heard all the rumors." She almost giggled for some unknown reason at the look of disgust on his handsome face.  
  
Draco eyed her disdainfully, and then looked around as the corridor began to empty as students disappeared into their classes. "I heard," he muttered grimly. He glared at her as if it were all her fault. It really was, he thought, peeved.  
  
"Hey, I'm just as unhappy about this as you are," Ginny put her hands on her hips, her displeasure evident in her eyes. "I mean, jut the thought of you touching me-" she shivered as if in disgust, but she had to fake it. "The whole idea is just completely preposterous." But not as preposterous as she'd once thought, to her complete and utter dismay.  
  
"Nice to know-now if you'll excuse me-I have a class I'm already late for." He made as if to walk past her.  
  
Ginny shook her head. "We have to work something out-I can't go around with my name attached to yours, for God's sake. Do you have any idea how angry my father would be if he heard some of this ridiculous stuff?"  
  
"Not as angry as mine, Weasley, I can guarantee," he murmured, his eyes sharp.  
  
"So-what are we going to do about it?" Ginny pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and stared at the floor.  
  
"A re you actually proposing that we-you, and I-a Weasley and a Malfoy, work together on something-willingly?"  
  
She frowned up at him, her eyebrows lowering. "You don't have to put it that way-I'm just trying to save my ass."  
  
"Good luck," he snorted, "Bad luck seems to follow in your wake like the bloody bubonic plague."  
  
"Really? It's too bad the bubonic plague decided to settle on your face!"  
  
"That was weak, Weasley-I know you happen think I'm extremely good looking."  
  
"About as good looking as the business end of a Blast-Ended Skrewt!"  
  
"Oh, come off it-look into my eyes and tell me you wouldn't come running if I bothered crooking a finger your way." Draco looked at her from beneath hooded lids, crossing his arms.  
  
A breathless feeling came into her chest as that particular visualization crossed her mind.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Ginny swallowed and forced herself to glare at him. "Not in a million years!"  
  
His expression hardened. "That's a load-I can get any woman I want."  
  
"Not this one!"  
  
"I said 'woman', Weasel-not 'scrawny, bloody annoying brat'. I also said 'want'. That's the key word, here."  
  
Hurt passed through her briefly and she stomped on it. "You're a total asshole."  
  
He looked un-phased. "Your point being-?"  
  
Ginny almost caught herself stomping her foot in frustration. She didn't know what else to say, he had her so wound up, and she turned and walked away before she grabbed his irritatingly handsome head and kissed him just to make him absolutely horrified.  
  
  
  
Draco let out a shaky breath when she disappeared around a corner, and he let his arms fall to his sides.  
  
He walked on to his class, trying to rid himself of the unsettling thought that he'd almost grabbed her and snogged her like mad just to shut her up.  
  
She was an infuriating little rodent-and she was fast becoming a problem, he realized later, when he received a very short and to the point note from his Father.  
  
He threw it into the fire in the Slytherin common room-mostly it had reminded him that he was a Malfoy, and the Weasley girl was not up to their standards, and if the rumors Lucius had been hearing turned out to be true, being disowned would be the least of his worries.  
  
Draco settled down to do his homework, or at least try to, with all the madness running about in his head-he hadn't bothered responding to his father's note-Lucius Malfoy wanted actions, not excuses, not explanations.  
  
He decided that no matter how much he liked to watch her face go as red as her hair when he insulted her, he just have to start ignoring her-if he just cut her dead whenever she was around, it would soon quash the rumors, and get his Father off his ruddy back.  
  
He had to admit, though, life at Hogwarts without the little Weasley dragging on his robes in her customarily troublesome way would be a little boring.  
  
  
  
Ginny, along with half-a dozen other students, watched Draco walk past her without a second glance-usually he had at least a smirk or a glare handy whenever he saw her, but he'd passed her by without so much as a snort. She moved down the corridor to Charms class, wondering why she felt so miffed.  
  
  
  
After a full month of Malfoy completely ignoring her, Ginny decided she was crazy and sent him a note.  
  
She watched him open it at Breakfast, read it boredly, and stuff it up his sleeve before returning to a discussion with Pansy Parkinson.  
  
Ginny made a face and watched him closely. He didn't glance her way once.  
  
She decided she didn't like being ignored.  
  
  
  
Draco re-read Ginny's note later in the library where he'd gone to study-he had his O.W.L.'s coming up, after all, and would no doubt be skinned alive by his Father if he scored badly.  
  
Malfoy-  
  
A re you all right? Not that I really care-but why are you acting so nice?  
  
Ginny  
  
"Nice?" Draco shook his head and tucked the note into his Potions book. What the hell was she talking about? He'd ignored her completely-Ahh. He chuckled. She was insinuating that he was being nice by ignoring her. He would have loved to straighten her out on that, but he had the feeling his Father was still suspicious of his activities.  
  
He sighed regretfully, and picked up his quill-he'd love nothing more than to prove to her he was anything but nice!  
  
  
  
Ginny walked into the library to return a book, and caught sight of Malfoy sitting alone at a table, scratching at a piece of parchment.  
  
She grinned-it was almost like the first time she'd come to screech at him about picking on Harry and Ron.  
  
She walked up to stand at his elbow and waited for him to look at her.  
  
He didn't even glance her way.  
  
Ginny cleared her throat.  
  
His eyes flicked her way momentarily before they went back to his work.  
  
Ginny scowled and jabbed him in the arm with her finger.  
  
A muscle in his jaw drew tight but he still didn't acknowledge her.  
  
  
  
"Mal-Ferret?" Ginny's taunting whisper made his shoulders stiffen.  
  
"Maaalfooooy," the singsong whisper grated on his nerves. He narrowed his eyes and focused on his paper.  
  
A tickle of her finger on the edge of his ear made him grip his quill so hard it snapped in two in his hand.  
  
"Oh, come on! You know you want to snap at me."  
  
Draco bit his tongue.  
  
"You want to glare at me and tell me to shove off, don't you? You want to call me an annoying little rodent and make nasty comments about the color of my hair, you know you do."  
  
He closed his eyes briefly and decided she'd finally taken complete leave of her senses.  
  
Ginny grinned at his profile. It was fun taunting him and not hearing a word back from it. She could stand there all night and do it.  
  
She reached out and ruffled his perfect hair, something she knew he'd absolutely hate-and abruptly found herself on his lap, staring up at him wide eyed.  
  
  
  
Draco had her tiny wrists in his hands before he knew he'd even moved- somehow she was on his lap, and he glared down at her, his breathing heavy. The feel of her warm fingertips on his scalp had completely undone him.  
  
"Why can't you take the hint and leave me alone?" He rasped, noting the fear shimmering in her wide eyes.  
  
She blinked, and shook her head. "Beats the hell out of me," she said truthfully.  
  
He looked at her closely for the first time, and noticed the light sprinkling of freckles across her small nose, the soft pink fullness of her lips, and the flecks of gold in her soft brown eyes. Her skin was fair and smooth looking, not a blemish in sight. He tightened his hold on her wrists as the tantalizing scent of warm vanilla reached his nose.  
  
She shook a long red tendril out of her eyes; he noticed how many different shades of red and gold sparkled in her hair, how long and heavy and thick the fall of it was as it spilled over her shoulders and down her back-he felt it brushing against his knees.  
  
Draco stared at her for a long minute, and then did the unthinkable-he bent his head and kissed her.  
  
  
  
TBC 


	5. 5. The Poison Ring

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net  
  
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::  
  
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)  
  
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!  
  
Sorry about the wait again-hope you guys like this chapter! I'd really appreciate your opinions! This part is a little darker than the rest of the chapters-the next one will probably be darker too-be patient, I am going somewhere with this! ^-^)  
  
  
  
5. The Poison Ring  
  
Draco raised his head again almost instantly-he'd certainly done it now. Ginny's hands were wriggling under the collar of his shirt; her fingertips sliding down his back-he grabbed her hand just as it brushed across an ugly reminder from his father.  
  
"Get away from me." He glared at her hatefully, and shoved her none too gently off his lap.  
  
Ginny's eyes snapped open wide as he dumped her off his lap with the cold, harshly spoken words.  
  
She landed on the floor with an unpleasant thud. "Ow!"  
  
Draco watched her with narrowed eyes as she stood and rubbed her rather delectable looking backside…get hold of yourself, Draco…he looked at her heaving chest through the school robes-he'd like to get hold of something all right- and clenched his teeth; he wasn't getting anywhere with this…  
  
"What was that?"  
  
Ginny was glaring at him, tossing her magnificent mane of red curls.  
  
"That was a moment of temporary insanity," Draco muttered, standing and gathering his books.  
  
"Hey, you grabbed me!" Ginny spat, flames in her brown eyes.  
  
"And you're the one who came looking for trouble," Draco said snidely as he slung his book bag over his shoulder and began to walk away.  
  
Ginny stared after him, her lips tingling, and fell into his vacated chair.  
  
"I think I found it."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Draco was debating whether or not Lucius would bother coming to murder him himself, or just send someone else to assassinate him in his sleep. No, his Father wouldn't make his death that merciful…he'd make sure he was wide awake-and most probably hanging from some ceiling by his fingernails-  
  
"Drayyycooo."  
  
He stared at the ceiling, cursing the fates. Wasn't his impending death bad enough? Only one person said his name like that.  
  
An odd bitter taste spilled across his tongue as he caught the scent of an overly strong, musky perfume. He was going to throw up if he had to smell that atrocity of a fragrance all during dinner…  
  
"Soooo…are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"  
  
Draco inwardly groaned as he turned his head unwillingly. "Oh, was that this weekend? I'd forgotten."  
  
Pansy Parkinson smiled at him with sugary sweetness, the warmness of her smile not reaching her cold eyes. Draco had always noticed that about her-it had always made him hideously uncomfortable when he'd kissed her-that air of coldness she had about her had always reminded him of his mother-he shook off the sickening thought. He'd broken it off with her during her last visit to his family's Manor over the previous summer, when he'd finally become unable to stand her anymore.  
  
"Of course you didn't forget, silly-it's only the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. You're going, aren't you?"  
  
He fought to keep his attention on her-he'd just seen Ginny enter the Great Hall out of the corner of his eye. "Er-yes, sure…"  
  
"Would you like to go with me?"  
  
Draco dragged his gaze to hers and felt his lip curl. "I thought I told you it was over, Pansy-what part of "Pansy, it's over, I can't bloody stand you", didn't you understand?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed to viperous slits, and her red painted fingernails curled into her palms.  
  
"You just lost your last chance, Draco Malfoy-you don't want me as your enemy." The over-made girl hissed this at him as if he ought to be scared.  
  
Instead he laughed.  
  
Pansy made a furious, unattractive sound low in her throat and pushed away from the table.  
  
Draco shook his head as he watched her go. Who did she think she was?  
  
Some line about women scorned wandered through his thoughts until he caught sight of Ginny again.  
  
  
  
Ginny felt his eyes on her and looked over at him boredly. He met her gaze steadily, and then frowned sourly.  
  
She blew him a kiss.  
  
His eyes widened and then he fairly snarled.  
  
Ginny grinned and picked up a banana from a silver bowl of fruit in her slim fingers.  
  
He turned faintly red and stood up, stalking away from his table abruptly before she could do anything.  
  
"What was that all about?" Hermione asked from beside her. She eyed the deceptively innocent looking banana as Ginny peeled it and took a voracious bite.  
  
Ginny shrugged. "Guess he doesn't care for bananas."  
  
  
  
"Miss Weasley, what would I get if I mixed dried digitalis leaves with essence of worm wart and powdered asphodel root?"  
  
Ginny thought quickly. "A restorative potion?"  
  
"For-?" Professor Snape crossed his arms, looking at her boredly.  
  
Ginny knew he was just waiting for her to screw up.  
  
"Er-the bite of the Malaclaw." She paused and then added, " It will help the fever and rash, but it won't help with the unluckiness part."  
  
Snape looked displeased, and she could see him searching for a reason to take points away even though she'd answered correctly.  
  
Ginny felt a moment of satisfaction before Snape narrowed his black eyes and muttered, "Correct, Weasley-but ten points from Gryffindor for being a know it all."  
  
Ginny felt her mouth drop open as several Slytherins behind her giggled and laughed.  
  
She bit her lip and glared at Snape's back fiercely. Thank God she only had to get through this last class-tomorrow was Saturday, and also the trip scheduled to Hogsmeade.  
  
A whole weekend free of Snape and Malfoy- it sounded like Heaven.  
  
"Weasley-pay attention! You may actually learn something."  
  
Ginny bit back an unpleasant retort and settled back in her chair. She couldn't believe there was still an hour of this left.  
  
She made herself feel better by blaming it all on Malfoy.  
  
  
  
Harry looked at Ginny over his butter beer and frowned.  
  
Ginny barely noticed he was even there.  
  
She was too busy trying to look like she wasn't staring across the small room at Draco Malfoy. He was sitting alone, head turned slightly as he stared out the small window at the rest of Hogsmeade. Gray light from the stormy overcast day filtered through the thick, ancient wavy glass and made his skin and hair look paler than ever. She wondered what was making him look so troubled-she'd never known him to look anything less than thoroughly smug…  
  
Ron kicked her foot under the table and she sat bolt upright, the hand wrapped around her mug jerking and sending the sudsy butter beer sloshing over the sides.  
  
She mopped up the mess with a napkin and glared across the tiny booth at her brother.  
  
Ron glared back. "All right-enough of this! What's with you? You've been running around here goggle-eyed all morning-what's going on with you and Malfoy?"  
  
Ginny's eyes snapped open wide before she realized it was an admission of guilt, and she looked for an escape, only to realize she was trapped by Hermione, who sat on the outside of the booth, sending her an equally questioning look.  
  
Harry was leaning forward in disbelief. "There's something going on with you and Malfoy?" His green eyes stared at her, completely aghast. "Really, going on? You're not-you know-"  
  
Ginny dropped her forehead onto the table and moaned. "It was you guys wasn't it? The one's who went to McGonagall? Oh, God." She squinted at them. "Do you have any idea how horribly embarrassing that was?"  
  
"Well, yeah, sorry… but…you aren't getting out of this that easily," her redheaded termagant of a brother groused.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait." Hermione bent until her head was down level with Ginny's and said," You don't have to say anything you know-it's nobody's business but your own."  
  
Ginny looked over at the older girl suspiciously. "What?"  
  
"What?" Harry and Ron exclaimed at once.  
  
Hermione made an awful face at them and looked at Ginny once more.  
  
Ginny raised her head hesitantly-Ron looked ready to explode. She looked at Hermione doubtfully. "I think I'm not getting out of this alive."  
  
Two outraged male voices rose with questions and accusations in the next moment. "Are you crazy? You must be nutters! Do you have any idea what Dad would say?"  
  
Ginny watched in disbelief as Hermione stood up, grabbed the two boys by their collars, and marched them toward the exit-her Mum would have been proud.  
  
She looked over at Malfoy to see him watching her; and then her vision was obscured by someone walking between them.  
  
Pansy Parkinson. Ginny felt her nose scrunch up at the sight of her obviously expensive yet tasteless magenta colored robes. She also had execrable taste in perfume-bleh. It smelled someone had sprayed a wet dog with an old witches favorite toilet water.  
  
She watched the fashion victim sit down next to Malfoy and nearly overturned her drink-what was that spiteful cow doing?  
  
  
  
"Hi, Draaaycoo."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes-he'd stayed in one place too long again-trouble always had a way of finding him when he did that. This time it came in the form of Pansy. Who'd had the idiotic idea of naming the girl after a flower, anyway? She resembled a bulldog, really-should have been Puggy Parkinson in his opinion.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked in his customary rude manner.  
  
Her eyes flashed briefly before she laid her bejeweled fingers on his arm-he looked at her disdainfully. The flesh under his sleeve began to crawl.  
  
"Just wanted to share a drink-for old times sake? No hard feelings-we are on the same side, you know."  
  
Draco tugged his arm from her and looked at her impatiently. "Do I look stupid to you? I know what you're up to-I'm not drinking anything around you-you'll likely have poisoned it, no doubt."  
  
She laughed.  
  
He looked at her as if she'd just declared herself Queen and was dancing naked on the table. He shuddered at the visual.  
  
"You're so distrustful, Draco-why would I ever want to poison you."  
  
"I have no doubt you'd like to see me cursed with warts or bulging eyeballs-or maybe shrink a rather cherished part of my anatomy to the size of a gnat-"  
  
"Stop," she said, smiling slyly, "I had nothing of the sort planned. You are giving me ideas, though-but how could I deprive the world of that?" She let her eyes drift downward pointedly. "It would be an absolute crime."  
  
Draco had to drag her straying hand from his knee. "You can stop stroking my 'ego' now, Pansy-what do you really want?"  
  
Her heavily painted lips curved, and she ignored his question completely. "I saw you staring at the Weasley girl."  
  
His heart began a painful thud in his chest. "Oh, really."  
  
"Mmm." Pansy looked at him appraisingly. "I've seen her staring at you too."  
  
He leaned back and crossed his arms. "I suppose you owled my father with those interesting little tidbits of information as well," he drawled, his eyes bored. He wanted to strangle the nosy witch.  
  
She shrugged.  
  
Murder!  
  
Draco opened his mouth to tell her off and saw Ginny glaring at him from across the room.  
  
He cut his eyes at her slightly and she stuck her tongue out at him. He found himself resisting the urge to laugh. He pulled his eyes away and took a long drink of his butter beer, wishing for something stronger.  
  
"Well…I'm off." Pansy stood up and smiled at him in a way that sent shivers of unease down his spine. "See you…soon."  
  
Draco watched her go and decided he'd better leave before any more trouble came his way. He stood up, feeling oddly dizzy for a moment before walking past Ginny's table without a second glance.  
  
  
  
Ginny looked away as Pansy came towards her, trying to pretend she hadn't been watching her and Malfoy's discussion with avid interest. After a moment she looked back around; Pansy was nowhere to be seen, and Malfoy was leaving, looking decidedly ill.  
  
Nervously, Ginny took a gulp of her butter beer and stood with a resigned sigh-she guessed she should go see what was wrong with the stupid git-if she didn't, who else would bother?  
  
"Malfoy?" Ginny peered through the drizzle into the slight alleyway between Honeydukes and The Three Broomsticks, eyeing the darkness with misgivings. She was sure she'd seen him disappear back there-she was tempted to just leave him, but he'd looked so sick…  
  
"You're such a goody-goody," Ginny muttered to herself with a sigh. If it had been Ron, he'd have just shrugged and went back home.  
  
Ginny pulled out her wand and walked cautiously into the narrow alleyway. "Lumos!"  
  
She had to close her eyes momentarily-everything had spun suddenly with the appearance of light-and she stepped around mud puddles as she walked further along.  
  
"Malfoy? Are you back here?"  
  
There was no answer. The rain began to fall harder, and Ginny looked back over her shoulder-maybe she should go back and find the others first-  
  
She tripped over something and landed hard on her knees, dropping her wand in the mud.  
  
"Damn!" Ginny flung mud from her hands and twisted around to see what she'd tripped over-"Draco!" He laid soaking wet and unconscious on his back in the mud.  
  
"So it's Draco, now, is it?"  
  
Ginny looked up at the voice. Fear took her breath away; a hooded Death Eater stood above her, barely distinguishable against the rapidly darkening sky. Another stood nearby.  
  
She opened her mouth to scream, unable to catch her breath, then the world tilted and spiraled, and everything went dark.  
  
  
  
"Wake up!"  
  
Ginny frowned as a vicious slap stung her cheek. Her head felt so heavy…  
  
"I said, wake up!" The voice nearly screamed.  
  
Ginny opened her eyes, which wasn't an easy feat-they felt like lead.  
  
She groaned as the room spun into focus-  
  
"Pansy!"  
  
Pansy Parkinson looked at her, a decidedly mad gleam in her eyes. "Finally woke up, you lazy thing?"  
  
"What did you do?" Her tongue felt swollen, and Ginny tried to move her arms-but they were tied at the wrist behind her back. She looked around the room, which was dank, dingy, and covered in dust and cobwebs-it looked vaguely familiar.  
  
Pansy laughed and Ginny noticed the Death Eaters robe stretched across her shoulders. "It's funny you should ask me that; Draco was just accusing me of trying to poison him when he looked over at you in the tavern." She smiled and tapped a heavy, ornamental tear dropped shaped silver ring on her finger. The glittering, silvery swirls flipped open to reveal a hollow, shallow compartment.  
  
"A poison ring. You drugged our drinks. Who for? Your master?" Ginny looked at her in disbelief. "You're jealous, aren't you? You truly think there's something between Draco and I? And to think, all this time, I thought you were merely stupid," Ginny muttered, shaking her head.  
  
Pansy's face turned an ugly red. "I'm not the one tied up, am I?"  
  
"Where is Draco anyway? Tied up in your bedroom?"  
  
"He's none of your business, Mudblood lover." Pansy snapped, and stepped forward, pushing her sleeve up. "Do you see this? Do you know what it is?"  
  
Ginny bit back a gasp. The idiot girl had gone and become a Death Eater. "Er-a really bad tattoo?" Pansy was stupider than she thought.  
  
The girl's face twisted so badly Ginny wanted to look away.  
  
"Make your jokes while you can, Weasley-my Master has plans for you."  
  
Ginny gulped, tugging at her bonds. She could get out of the ropes easily-Fred and George Weasley were her brothers, after all.  
  
"Who's your Master?" She asked boredly. "He's got almost as atrocious a taste in robes as you do."  
  
"I believe I'll let him introduce himself." Pansy grinned insanely as a door creaked open behind her.  
  
Ginny bit her cheek as a tall Death Eater drifted in. She stared into the blackness of its hood and then gasped when it was suddenly thrown back.  
  
"I understand you've been seeing my son, Miss Weasley."  
  
She almost swallowed her tongue-had Draco always looked that much like his father? She'd thought it was him momentarily, but upon closer examination, there were subtle lines and differences in hair color-small slashes of white marred his temples, and there was a cold emptiness in his silvery eyes that Draco's couldn't begin to compare to.  
  
Ginny began plucking at her ties in earnest-she did not want to spend any length of time in a room alone with two utterly mad people-Pansy Parkinson, and Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Draco awoke reluctantly, pulling his eyelids open with some difficulty. He almost groaned at the sight of his father standing before him.  
  
Instead he pulled on the familiar old mask, the cold formality his father demanded in his presence.  
  
"Hello, Father. I trust you're well."  
  
His father didn't answer.  
  
Draco looked around the dark, cold room-it looked like a dungeon of sorts. He was chained to the wall. No surprise there.  
  
He looked back to his Father as his ears cringed at the all too familiar sound of a whip being unfurled. The dry insult stepped up to his lips despite himself. "A whipping? How unoriginal of you, Father."  
  
He watched Lucius' lips pulled back in a cruel sneer as he raised the wicked looking black whip threateningly. He could have used the Cruciatus curse-but Lucius rather enjoyed the sight of blood.  
  
Draco found himself smiling despite the thought of impending pain-at least he wasn't hanging from the ceiling by his fingernails.  
  
  
  
Ginny stalked across the room angrily, ignoring Pansy's icy stare-she'd gotten herself free of her bonds all right, only to be imprisoned in the same room with an insane witch as a watchdog.  
  
"How does it feel to know Draco is going to marry me? Me and not you, Weasley?"  
  
Ginny made a disgusted face and turned her head to look at the girl. "You still don't get it do you? I do not like Draco Malfoy! He doesn't like me- he detests me! Those rumors-they weren't true! We were dueling for God's sake-I fell, hit my head, and he took me to Madam Pomfrey so he wouldn't get in trouble-that's all!"  
  
Pansy stood from her seat instantly, her teeth bared. "Don't lie to me! I saw you kissing in the library!"  
  
Ginny paled but still shook her head. "That was nothing-did you see him push me off his lap? I just pissed him off, and he was trying to get me to shut up. He hates me!"  
  
Pansy blinked, looking unsure…and then she laughed shrilly, and quickly left the room.  
  
Ginny ran behind her, but the girl had locked the door firmly behind her.  
  
She turned her back to the door, wishing she had her wand-she tried not to think about where Malfoy was-his father had left minutes before looking coldly furious-or what was happening to him.  
  
  
  
The room was stifling even though Draco knew it to be cold and damp and he swallowed against the dryness in his throat before lifting his head to look at his father's eerily glowing eyes. He was utterly mad. He decided in that instant he'd rather die than ever look like his father did at that moment; which was fast becoming a very real possibility. Lucius had just informed him of Voldemort's intention to make him a Death Eater.  
  
It didn't seem to matter that Draco wanted no part of it.  
  
"Can we lose the chains?" he murmured, daring his Father to unloose him. "You don't fear me do you?"  
  
Lucius smirked back at him, an older reflection of his own face. "Insolent brat, aren't you? Ah, well, I suppose that's my own fault. You are what I made you."  
  
He waved his wand and the manacles fell free-Draco sagged momentarily before dragging himself up. He eyed the bloody furrows crisscrossing his chest and leaned against the wall weakly. "So where's Voldemort? Likes to be fashionably late does he? I hear pasty white is in this year."  
  
Lucius growled at him. "You shall not mock your master that way."  
  
Draco snorted. "What way does he like to be mocked in, then? I'm always ready to oblige bloody evil dark wizards with aspirations of world domination."  
  
"You're tongue has been your downfall of late, my boy. You should watch how you use it."  
  
The tall blonde looked at his feet before he laughed. "I take it you found out about Ginny."  
  
"Don't dare mention her name in my presence."  
  
"Who? Ginny? She's harmless-she can't hurt you."  
  
"She certainly can't."  
  
Draco stared hard at him. "What have you done?"  
  
Lucius only smiled.  
  
Draco felt a fury rise up in him like he'd never known. He moved forward, and grabbed his Father by the throat. "What did you do to her?"  
  
In his weakened state, his Father just pushed him away. "Control yourself, boy."  
  
"If you did anything to her, I'll rip your heart out," Draco found himself snarling, his hand over his chest. It ached fiercely at the thought that Ginny might be-  
  
"Amusing. I'd almost believe you have feelings for that girl."  
  
"You know nothing about her-or me for that matter. You're an insane old man who lets another lead you around with a ring through your nose like a bloody prize cow. I'm not about to become like you, Lucius, a man who isn't really a man- a man who kills innocents for the pleasure of it. You may as well kill me now, I refuse the Mark."  
  
Lucius laughed. "You speak of innocents? You're as evil as I am, my son. In fact that's why Lord Voldemort wants you-you have great potential." The opal eyes sparkled.  
  
A chill ran down Draco's spine. "I might not be a saint, but who the hell is, anyway. I don't run about murdering children and torturing people. I can get myself off in the normal way quite easily, thanks."  
  
The ugly black look on his Father's face made his skin crawl.  
  
"What's wrong, Dad? Have I hit a sore spot?"  
  
His Father stepped forward, his hand clenched around his wand.  
  
"Having a hard time getting it up lately, Lucius?" Draco clucked his tongue. He realized briefly he was getting to the man in much the same way as Ginny had gotten to him in the library that day-poking and prodding at sore spots.  
  
"You won't speak to me in such a disrespectful manner, you bloody ingrate! You'd be living in rags like Potter and those Weasley's if it weren't for me!"  
  
"If it weren't for you." Draco laughed out loud, his slightly healed wounds pulling open with each breath. "If it weren't for you, I'd have probably grown into a prat like Potter. For that I'm certainly grateful. I'd have had to off myself long ago-but don't think for one second that I feel beholden to you for anything. You made one major mistake in the raising of me Father. You never taught me loyalty."  
  
"I'll kill you!" He'd never seen his Father's face turn that particular shade of purple.  
  
"Will you?" Draco spread his arms wide, forcing a careless look onto his face. "Somehow I doubt it-you've always been a bit of a coward, haven't you? I mean, everyone was talking that time you practically ran off from Arthur Weasley in Flourish and Blotts my second year-"  
  
"I run from no one!" His Father exploded furiously, green sparks beginning to shoot from the end f his wand. "I should kill you-taking up with that Weasley, that common filth-"  
  
"You lack the courage of your convictions, sir," Draco said to his Father with infuriating indifference. He looked at the wand in Lucius' hand. "Do it." (A/N: Yes, that's from Interview with the Vampire. ^-^)  
  
Lucius' face was black with hatred, and he brought up the wand furiously.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
Lucius looked up as Voldemort drifted towards them, leaving a trail of venomous steam in his wake. "My Lord." He bowed slightly.  
  
Voldemort's violet eyes burned into Draco. "Clever, aren't you?" He hissed through his slit of a mouth. "Trying to get your Father to kill you before you could receive the Dark Mark. How very noble." Lord Voldemort narrowed his violet eyes at Lucius appraisingly. "An admirable trait, wouldn't you say? Odd, how he is so reluctant to be brought into my fold, when you, my most trusted Death Eater, was his sire?"  
  
Lucius clenched his jaw but was wise enough to utter not a word. His crystalline eyes fell to the floor, his wand hanging limply in his hand at his side.  
  
Draco swallowed as Voldemort slithered up to him, black robes dragging. He fought to keep his face impassive, as the flat snakelike nostrils flared, and the slashing violet eyes narrowed even further. A stench rose from the evil creature, and nearly choked him.  
  
A hoarse scream rose in his throat but was never issued as the Dark Lord grabbed Draco's forearm and twisted it to expose the inner part, pressing his cold, skeletal hand to the sensitive skin there.  
  
A sizzling sound came as Voldemort burned the Dark Mark into Draco's flesh, and he stared at his Father forcefully across the dungeon, biting his cheek until it bled.  
  
His Father looked away.  
  
When Voldemort at last stepped away, Draco was dripping with sweat, his mouth filled with blood, and he looked down at the ruin of his skin, furious.  
  
"Bastard!" He ground out fiercely, and leapt at Voldemort.  
  
Voldemort grabbed Draco up by his throat, demonstrating remarkable strength for a man of his age and build, choking off his air supply as he slammed him against the gray wall of the dungeon. "Be glad I made you what you are, young Malfoy-you'd be dead now if I hadn't."  
  
Draco glared at him through rapidly blurring eyes.  
  
Voldemort dropped him onto the filthy flagstone floor, and he landed hard on his side, bruising his ribcage.  
  
"He's grown rather spirited, Lucius…no matter. The Mark will change that in time."  
  
Draco watched the tail of Voldemort's robe drag along the floor as he turned away, and felt his eyes begin to close. The pain and shock was taking its toll, and he sank into a merciful unconsciousness.  
  
What had happened to Ginny…?  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
(Next Chapter: 6. The Rematch Bet you can guess between whom! ^-^)  
  
Please Review!  
  
  
  
To my reviewers-thank you so much for your interest! You have no idea! ^-^  
  
Many Thanks to:  
  
CH9HP17  
  
Princess Evil  
  
Jewel Giovanni  
  
Midnight  
  
SheDoesMagic  
  
Caliko  
  
Nala/Ethereal  
  
Fizzyglitter  
  
Ld_vld  
  
Carolanne O'Rourke  
  
Meo  
  
Junbug  
  
Rita d.  
  
Lupe Silverwig  
  
Hogwart's Resident Turkey  
  
Rose Demon  
  
Sarah McKatie  
  
SeekerPeeker  
  
Virtualfaerie  
  
Pam  
  
Ginny Dallaire  
  
Cora  
  
Jenny-fer  
  
Delinda  
  
Lip  
  
Lilyayl  
  
Chocagirl23  
  
~Please forgive me if I didn't get those of you that asked e-mailed about the update-my Internet service sucks half the time and it always screws up my outgoing mail! That's what I get for being cheap, right? Thanks again! ~Lee 


	6. 6. The Rematch

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
Disclaimer: This belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. etc. I own nothing!!!  
  
6. The Rematch  
  
Ginny gasped as Pansy opened the door and marched forward, grabbing her by her wrist. "What are you doing? Leave me alone!"  
  
The furious looking girl dragged her down a dark hallway, and Ginny could see gray light filtering through the boarded up windows-she stumbled down a rotted staircase with bits of the railing missing after her. Pansy's hold on her aching wrist intensified, and she pulled her through another hallway, and down a dark, narrow flight of mildew slick stone steps that wound on forever. Just as Ginny thought she was going to scream in absolute terror, Pansy stopped, unlocked a heavy wooden door, opened it and shoved her through it. She fell onto her knees hard.  
  
"You bitch!" Ginny spat the words hatefully, fear and anger choking her throat. Her words echoed in the room.  
  
Pansy laughed insanely and slammed the door, leaving Ginny in near darkness. At least she now knew where she was-The Shrieking Shack.  
  
"You kiss your mother with that mouth, Weasley?"  
  
"Draco?" Ginny crept further into the dark chamber, gasping when her foot slipped and she fell forward, catching herself on one hand.  
  
She made a face when she stood upright again, feeling something slippery and sticky on her palm. She looked closely, horrified, and as she saw the dark redness on her hand, and smelled the coppery scent of blood.  
  
She stepped forward, slipping again-the dungeons floor seemed to be covered in it…  
  
"Draco?" Her voice cracked as she spun around the chamber, her search bordering on hysterical.  
  
"Go…away."  
  
Ginny took a step toward a particularly dark corner.  
  
"Go away, Gin…" the voice hissed again. "My father…Lord Voldemort- they'll be back any minute."  
  
"They probably know I'm already here, seeing as Pansy just threw me in here…the door's locked, and I lost my wand-haven't got much of a choice, have I?"  
  
She squinted through the dimness. "Where are you, anyway? You have no idea how much of a pain in the ass you are-" Ginny bit back a shocked sob when she finally saw him. She made to rush forward but stopped when he lifted his head from his chest and fixed her with a venomous silver glare.  
  
"Stop."  
  
"But-"  
  
"They'll kill you. Do you understand? Pansy put you here on purpose."  
  
"Why did they do this to you?"  
  
He was chained to the stone wall, his arms drawn over his head. Great bloody gashes crisscrossed his chest, the wounds deep and angry, trickling freely down his abdomen and over the front of his jeans-a puddle had formed at his feet, and ran across the floor.  
  
She'd slipped on his blood. White faced and woozy, Ginny stepped near and unsnapped the heavy manacles one by one.  
  
His breathing was raspy in the near darkness. His arms fell, but he couldn't stay on his feet-his eyes rolled back, and he fell forward.  
  
Ginny threw her weight against him, and lowered him to the floor.  
  
"Draco-" Ginny balled up the sleeve of her robe and pressed it against his chest.  
  
"Stop-get away, damn it!" He blinked, looking up at her.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I didn't…I don't want you to see me this way." He looked away from her, his sweat-dampened hair falling into his eyes.  
  
"What are you talking about? You-" She grabbed his arm and twisted it- he hissed in pain as she stared down at his forearm.  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
"They gave me the Mark," he mumbled, pulling his arm away from her.  
  
"Draco…I'm so sorry…oh, God, You-know-who is here? What are we going to do?"  
  
He laughed darkly. "I was actually thinking about joining Death Eaters Anonymous…"  
  
"This is not the time to suddenly gain a sense of humor, Malfoy!" Ginny snapped, looking around the room desperately. "What I wouldn't give for Harry's Invisibility Cloak right now…maybe he'll figure out where we are-the Shrieking Shack, did you know?"  
  
"It always comes back to Potter, doesn't it…" Draco pushed her hands away and stood up with difficulty. He swayed on his feet slightly, before putting out a hand against the wall to steady himself. "That perfect little prat-it's too bad you're here and not him. I wouldn't mind seeing him get his ass fried…"  
  
Ginny looked at Draco with something akin to hate. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
Angry, hurt, and very frustrated, Draco swept his fall of hair from his eyes.  
  
"Oh, I don't know-could it be the fact that I'm BLOODY EVIL?"  
  
His sarcastic shout made her blanch slightly.  
  
She watched him pace, his fists clenching spasmodically as he surveyed their prison. "You don't look…well."  
  
"No kidding? I got whipped by my Father and branded for life by an evil bloodsucking demonic bastard! Sorry if my appearance doesn't meet your strict standards at the moment, Ginny, luv. It's a bit hard to look all Wizard GQ when you've just been tortured in a bloody cellar!"  
  
Ginny clenched her teeth, watching sweat bead on his forehead. He was so tense she could see the muscles in his neck standing out. "It's the Mark isn't it? It's affecting you somehow…"  
  
Draco turned to her with a snarl of a smile. "Yes, it is. I really don't think I'm quite sane at the moment. Or do you see blood all over the walls too?"  
  
She bit her lip, her anger fading as she saw the dark circles under his eyes, the sharp hollows of her cheeks-Voldemort was getting to him, breaking him down. He clutched his forearm as if he was afraid it might fall off.  
  
Worry washed over her-had she ever truly been able to stay angry with him for very long?  
  
She stood up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his arm. "Draco-"  
  
He flung her hand off, twisting around to look at her with narrowed iridescent eyes. "No don't touch me, Ginny-in fact stay as far away from me as you can."  
  
"Draco, don't be angry-"  
  
"I'm not angry you silly brat! Don't you understand? I can feel it, Gin-it's welling up inside me like a black cloud of locusts-and it's eating away whatever part of me that seems to give a damn about you. If you show me a grain of kindness, I'll take advantage of it. I don't want to hurt you, Ginny." His eyes flashed as he took several stumbling steps backward. "Just stay away, do you understand? No matter what I say or do from here on, don't listen."  
  
Frightened, Ginny nodded, backing away into her corner to curl up. "Wait-did you just say you-"  
  
He made a low growling noise in his throat. She ducked her head.  
  
Draco turned his back, facing the wall. He stared down at the mark on his arm, feeling as if the thing was eating him alive. He wondered if this was how Voldemort had taken his father…  
  
"I'm sorry, but I have to do something about your chest-you can grumble and growl at me all you want," Ginny suddenly stated, standing up stubbornly.  
  
"Weasley-"  
  
"Oh stuff it, you prat. Sit down and let me have a look at you."  
  
Draco sighed roughly and sat down in the middle of the floor. He blinked at the sight of his blood staining the floor, wondering if it was real or just another hallucination.  
  
Ginny tried to bite back a gasp when she saw his back, seeing the white, raised ridges of scars from brutal whippings crisscrossing the pale skin.  
  
He heard her gasp and turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes flat and cold. "Come on Weasley…we haven't got all bloody day. They'll be back to make me watch as they murder you soon, no doubt." He snorted, closing his eyes with disturbing finality. "Hell, maybe they'll make me murder you."  
  
Ginny closed her mouth and crossed back around in front of him, her eyes troubled as she tried desperately to ignore his last words. Someone had beaten him, and horribly…his Father, no doubt-no wonder he was so cold, so unfeeling…  
  
"My wounds are up here, Weasley, not on the floor. I thought you were desperate to play nursemaid." He sneered this as if he seriously doubted it. "I should have known better-the amount of knowledge you have about first-aid could fill a thimble-about the same amount you're Muggle loving father could afford to spend on your school robes-"  
  
"Shut up!" Ginny said hotly, curling her hand into a fist. "You're hateful, you know that? It's no wonder someone beat you half to death!"  
  
She gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth as his eyes narrowed. "Oh, Draco, I'm sorry-I didn't-"  
  
"Just get it over with, Weasley," he ground out, laying back.  
  
"Stop calling me that," Ginny muttered, lowering herself to her knees and leaning over him. "If you care about me so much, you can at least call me Ginny."  
  
"How about bloody annoying git?"  
  
She sighed in exasperation as she looked closely at the slash marks. "It's not going to work you know-you already spilled the beans. I know you like me, now."  
  
"Like you? I can't stand the sight of you-" Draco hissed as she produced a tiny vial of blue liquid from somewhere within her robes, and opened it, carefully smearing the stuff across his wounds. It stung like hell. "What the hell is that?"  
  
Ginny kept applying the stuff, and he could have sworn she was grinning every time he winced. "A little something Mum makes all of us carry around constantly-a secret family recipe for emergencies only. The ingredients are quite expensive-and I'll pull your tongue out if you make one crack about my family being poor, Draco."  
  
He gasped, unprepared as her fingers hit a particularly sore spot.  
  
"Sorry," she said in sudden commiseration, and she put the cap back on the vial before hiding it away again. She held her hair back from her face and leaned low over him, blowing on the stinging cuts.  
  
  
  
Draco almost went cross-eyed at the sight and at the thought that crossed his fevered mind. "Got any plans to go farther south? I seem to have a tremendous pain just there-Ow!" He sat up as she pinched his side.  
  
"My God, you have the morals of a snake!"  
  
Draco leaned against the wall and watched as she paced. "Or a Malfoy- there's really not much difference."  
  
Ginny glared at him. "Why did I have to follow you today?"  
  
"Because you find me maddeningly attractive?"  
  
"I felt sorry for you," she barked.  
  
"Really? How Weasley-ish of you." Draco rubbed his arms-his shirt, muddy as it had been, would have been welcome just then.  
  
"Are you cold?"  
  
"No, I'm shivering because I'm good at it."  
  
"I'll ignore the sarcasm this once on the grounds that you're not in your right mind." Ginny unzipped the front of her robes.  
  
Draco felt his eyebrows shoot up. "And you are? I don't think what you have in mind is quite appropriate right now-even though it may well get me warm-in fact I think I'm well on my way-"  
  
"Do you ever think before you open that great yawning maw of yours?" Ginny stripped off the black robe and dropped it unceremoniously on his head.  
  
Draco caught the heavenly aroma of warm vanilla before he tugged the fabric from his head and wrapped it around his shoulders. "I suppose you expect me to thank you now?"  
  
"I really don't-I think I'd pass out if I ever heard you say a nice word to anyone, much less express your gratitude."  
  
He watched her lean against the door, taking in her school uniform- the starched white shirt, gray jumper, tie, and knee length pleated skirt. He allowed his eyes to drift down her legs, taking in the plain gray knee socks and black Mary Jane's.  
  
Somehow she looked older without the black school robes shrouding her.  
  
She was quiet for a long minute, her heavy fall of soft red curls hiding her face. "Do you really think they'll…kill me?"  
  
Draco didn't know what to say. He actually felt guilty for telling her.  
  
"Honestly-yes."  
  
Her head drooped toward her chest.  
  
Draco stood up, wincing, and crossed over to her before he really knew what he was doing. "Gin…"  
  
She was crying. He felt a hot tear drop onto his hand, and then he was gathering her into his arms.  
  
Ginny buried her face against his neck, fighting back the tears. "I don't want to die, Draco. I want to get married, and have children and grow old-"  
  
He rested his chin against her head and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the awful pictures flashing through his mind. Her death…  
  
"-I want to see Ron and Hermione get married and have kids, and go to the station with them when they're older to send them off to Hogwarts…I want to see Harry, alive and well and happy at last." She pulled back and looked at him, blinking rapidly. "I'd even like to see you again when we're old and gray." She laughed. "We'd make a pair. Two wrinkled old people still biting each others heads off-it'd keep life interesting."  
  
The scary part of it all was-Draco could see it all in his head. He dropped his arms from her and backed away.  
  
  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Draco shook his head, shrugging off the fabric around his shoulders and tossing it back at her. "I can't do this."  
  
She frowned, wiping away her tears as she caught the robe. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I can't be good, Ginny. I can't be…I'm not good…"  
  
She stepped forward at the panicked tone in his voice. "Draco, calm down."  
  
"No!" He turned in a circle, feeling as if the room was closing in on him. "I'm not good…I don't want to be."  
  
"You're talking like a mad person," Ginny stated, forcing her voice to remain calm.  
  
The key scraped in the lock, and she leapt away from the door as it opened.  
  
"He is a mad person," Lucius Malfoy said conversationally as he stepped in, and Voldemort entered silently behind him.  
  
Ginny felt her throat close as she saw the fierce violet eyes staring at her from the glaring white face. Her whole body shook in terror.  
  
Draco was standing in a corner, breathing hard.  
  
"Dear Pansy tells me you had a meeting scheduled-a wizard's duel, I believe it was?" Lucius smiled at her coldly. "She tells me you never had a chance to finish it."  
  
Ginny was almost past the point of comprehension. She could only stare at Voldemort with wide, dark eyes. Had this 'thing' ever really been Tom Riddle?  
  
"Give him his wand," Voldemort hissed at Lucius suddenly.  
  
Lucius walked over to his son slowly. He pulled a wand from his sleeve and held it out on his palm.  
  
Draco blinked, and took it woodenly.  
  
Lucius turned to Ginny. "My dear." He brandished her wand.  
  
She reached out a shaking hand for it. It felt comforting in her grasp.  
  
"Why are you bothering with this?" Ginny heard herself speak, and was surprised by it. "Why aren't you just using a killing curse and getting it over with?"  
  
Voldemort actually laughed. It made Ginny's skin crawl.  
  
"Young Malfoy must prove his loyalty to me, girl. Killing you will do that." He smiled, exposing needle like incisors. "The duel was Lucius' suggestion-it should prove amusing."  
  
Ginny shuddered inwardly, feeling as if her heart might pound through her chest.  
  
Lucius stepped to his master's side. "Shall we begin?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Draco's head was full of nightmares-every horrible thing he'd ever seen or heard or dreamed of was standing around him waiting to take a bite.  
  
"On the count of three."  
  
Draco shook his head, looking over at his Father. "No…"  
  
"One."  
  
He looked and saw Ginny standing opposite him, her face white.  
  
"Two."  
  
"I won't do it!" He shouted, feeling the Mark on his arm begin to burn fiercely-Voldemort was exerting his power over him, and Draco watched in horror as his arm rose and he extended his wand directly at Ginny.  
  
"Three!"  
  
"CRUCIO!"  
  
  
  
Ginny thought her heart was going to explode when the Cruciatus curse hit her. She fell to the floor, shrieking in a pain filled voice that she wasn't even sure was hers. God, she wanted to die…  
  
She managed out of sheer stubbornness to raise her arm and yell, "Expelliarmus!"  
  
The pain stopped immediately as Draco's wand was tugged from his grasp-but it stopped in mid-air, and Ginny watched in disbelief as it flew back into Draco's hand.  
  
Voldemort laughed rustily.  
  
She guessed cheating was most definitely allowed here.  
  
Ginny hurried to stand, and looked at Draco with no little fear. His eyes looked eerily blank.  
  
"Imperio!"  
  
She threw herself flat against the floor, skinning both palms and knees again as she barely managed to avoid the Imperious curse. Desperate to get out of it alive, and unwilling to hurt Draco, she thought fast and shouted, "Locomotor Mortis!"  
  
Draco dodged the curse easily.  
  
"Serpensortia!"  
  
Ginny shrieked as a huge, spitting black snake appeared, slithering towards her. She leapt back, not sure what to do, panic clouding her mind.  
  
"Finite Incantatem!"  
  
The snake continued to draw near, and Ginny felt her shoulders strike the wall behind her.  
  
"FINITE INCANTATEM!" She yelled desperately, her mind racing-what else was there? It wasn't working!  
  
"Impedimentia!" The spell seemingly bounced off.  
  
The snake was at her feet, it's purple tongue flickering out to taste the air-it's huge yellow eyes focused on her with evil intent. She closed her eyes and turned her head.  
  
In that moment it finally hit her that she was really going to die.  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
(Next Chapter 7.Liberation! Hmmm, what could that mean? ^-^)  
  
(A/N: Ack! Another cliffie! Sorry about that, really! I hope to post more soon! Thanks so much for the reviews-sorry if this got a little too dark or gory for some of you-blame it on all the rain I've been subjected to of late. I do. I promise some nice fluff for you real soon, 'Turkey! Love ya! ^-^ ~Lee)  
  
  
  
. 


	7. 7.Liberation!

Disclaimer: This belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. etc. I own nothing!!!  
  
  
  
(A/N: Now-Questions! You always claim to want them, but what do you do when you get them? EEEEEK! LilyAyl, you know I love ya, but ack! You asked me questions! ^-^ All kidding aside, I just went with my feelings on the last chapter-If I went wonky with the Mark and Voldemort and the Imperious, I'm sooo sorry! Somebody fill me in-I'm a true fan, but I've obviously missed some important stuff somewhere. No matter how many times I reread my chapters and ask myself questions, there's always some I miss, and I end up looking back on them a day later in horror! Smack me around if I do it again, will ya? I'm gonna get smacked around a lot…  
  
Thanks for the review LilyAyl-I know I haven't really answered your question-I'm not quite sure how to. Not that I don't want to, I just haven't got an answer right now I guess. Sorry, I'm having a senior moment. Tired! If I come up with something, I'll explain. I sincerely hope you like this chapter. ^-^  
  
Thanks to the rest of you guys too! Tomato Soup-I truly appreciate all the reviews! Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff! I'm so glad you enjoy it!  
  
To Carolanne O'Rourke: What an, er, interesting review! Yes, I know I do have some grammatical errors. I'm very sorry; I truly try my best. (It's a pet peeve of mine to read very badly spelled fics as well, and if I just make a ton of usage errors, somebody please point them out!) I guess I'll have to break down and try to get a beta, huh? And as for the snogging-heh, heh, I'll work on that. It's way past time I guess. I truly appreciate the review-the very long review. It has to be a record of some kind! ^-^ Hope you like this chapter! ~ Lee)  
  
  
  
7. Liberation!  
  
  
  
"You're like an angel with the sweetest smile  
  
But when you use it you're like an evil child.  
  
That's what brings me back again  
  
I love you more when you're doing something wrong  
  
And that what's wrong with me…" -?  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron were frantic.  
  
Hermione had up and disappeared.  
  
They'd retraced their steps over and over, and the girl had just simply dropped off the face of the earth-or Hogsmeade anyway.  
  
Harry stopped Ron finally, as he was coming close to panicking, as his seeking green eyes alighted on something fluttering in the evening breeze outside the shrieking shack. "Ron."  
  
Ron was almost trembling from head to foot, and turning his redhead frantically.  
  
"Ron!"  
  
Harry's friend jumped and glared at him. "What?"  
  
"Look." Ron's brown eyes widened when he looked along to where Harry was pointing.  
  
The thunderhead that had been threatening to open up over Hogsmeade all day long finally began letting loose a cold deluge with an ear- shattering roar.  
  
"Do you think she's in there?" Ron stomped up to the rickety wooden gate, his fingers snatching a torn ribbon of a black fabric that looked disturbingly as if it had been ripped from a Hogwarts school robe.  
  
Harry shook his head, his eyes narrowed, and his face solemn. "I don't know Ron-but-take a closer look. See how the fabric is nearly threadbare?"  
  
Ron's face turned even whiter with the realization. "Ginny!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"AAAAH!"  
  
Hermione jumped away from the two boys, a surprised look on her face. "God, you nearly frightened me half to death!"  
  
Ron stared at her, wide-eyed, and then very simply grabbed her and kissed her as if he'd never see her again.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes at the open snog-fest, but felt his racing heart sigh in relief that she was all right. He rubbed at the water on his glasses ineffectually and finally took them off.  
  
Ron let go of the dazed looking girl and shook a finger in her face. The stern look on his face was made less so by the fact that rain was pouring down it.  
  
"Woman, where have you been? Do you have any idea what you put me through? Why I've a mind to bend you over my knee-"  
  
"Later, Ron!" Hermione took his hand and squeezed it briefly. "I'm sorry, but-I knew something was wrong-I went back to check on Ginny at the Three Broomsticks and she wasn't there-and nether was Malfoy."  
  
"Why I'll-"  
  
"So-" Hermione cut him off with a steely glance, "I went around the outside, and I found these footprints in the mud back there-what I assumed were Ginny and Draco's-only they stopped abruptly-and there were two other sets of footprints-a man's and a woman's, a different one see, because there was a pointed heel-and I know Ginny wears Mary-Jane's-anyway, I followed them around, and just guess where they came out." She took a deep, very much needed breath.  
  
"The Shrieking Shack." Harry said grimly, eyeing the boarded up old house with severe dislike.  
  
  
  
Ginny couldn't keep the panic from welling up inside of her-and she couldn't keep still just waiting for the bloody snake to finish her off either.  
  
She opened her eyes, and flung her arm out, inwardly quailing when she felt it connect with the deadly serpent-it reared back, obviously taken by surprise, and Ginny dove over the thing, desperate to get away from it, only to land at Draco's feet-her wand clattered away across the floor.  
  
She cursed inwardly as she looked up at his shadowed face, and she heard Voldemort hissing something in Parseltongue at the snake.  
  
Draco's silvery eyes had gone soft and gray, and they had a haunted look in them that chilled her. "I didn't mean for this to happen." His voice was barely audible.  
  
Standing hastily, she backed up against a wall, snapping despite her fear, "Yes, well it's a bit late for apologies, isn't it?"  
  
Something shifted in his expression. He almost looked-annoyed.  
  
"I can't believe you let them do this to you," she continued scornfully. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as their puppet, Malfoy?"  
  
"Be quiet, girl!" Lucius snapped.  
  
The snake was drawing near again, a mad light in its eyes. Ginny ignored it.  
  
"Do you really want to marry Pansy? Can you imagine what your children will look like?" Ginny inched her way down the wall, towards the door. It was locked, she'd never make it, but she had to try.  
  
Draco slowly shook his head.  
  
"You'll be ridiculed by everybody-your name will be a joke-well, even more of one than it is already-"  
  
"Enough!" Voldemort hissed, stepping forward.  
  
She watched as Draco actually frowned.  
  
"If I die now, you'll never get that apology, Malfoy," Ginny said quickly, watching him desperately.  
  
He closed his eyes, as if he were thinking.  
  
Ginny saw Voldemort pointing his wand at her and fought the urge to scream. The huge snake was curling around her feet.  
  
"Come on, Draco-I don't want to die. I- I think I might love you, you stupid prat!"  
  
At that Draco seemed to wake up. He blinked, some color coming back into his face, and he dropped his wand.  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
"Avada-"  
  
Just when Ginny thought all was lost, there was a sudden explosion, and she hit the floor hard.  
  
Bits and pieces of the door lay smoking and smoldering on the floor.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed in, and Harry paused long enough to look over the mess and then at Ron.  
  
Ron shrugged sheepishly. "Guess I got a little excited."  
  
Harry shook his head. The smoke from Ron's spell was clearing-he saw a massive black snake coiling up before him and hissed at it impatiently to go away and not hurt anyone.  
  
The snake seemed to look at him, surprised, before it slid away across the floor.  
  
"Ginny?" Ron was calling through the haze-filled air.  
  
"I'm here," a small voice coughed.  
  
Harry dashed over to where she lay on the floor, looking filthy and battered.  
  
"Gin, are you all right?" He knelt next to her, as Ron and Hermione did the same.  
  
"Voldemort-he's here!" She sat up, gasping.  
  
Hermione shook her head, looking at Harry. "There's no one else here but you and Malfoy, Ginny."  
  
Malfoy? What was he doing there?  
  
"Draco!" Ginny was on her feet in an instant, and Harry followed her to find him on his back in a corner.  
  
"Are you alive?" She asked the quiet boy stupidly, lifting his head onto her lap.  
  
What was going on, here, exactly, Harry wondered skeptically.  
  
Malfoy was staring straight ahead, looking far more ruffled than He could ever remember seeing him-even when he'd been turned into a ferret.  
  
"Are you all right, Malfoy?" Harry heard himself asking.  
  
He thought for a moment that Malfoy wouldn't answer.  
  
Then he turned his head, looked directly at Ginny, and muttered, "Are you sorry yet?"  
  
Ginny looked back at Draco, caught off guard. "What?"  
  
Draco looked up at her, his old sneer on his face. "If you hadn't started all of this we probably wouldn't have Voldemort breathing down our bloody necks."  
  
Ginny felt her mouth fall wide open. She'd just told him she thought she loved him, and he was blaming all of this on her. What had she been thinking?  
  
"How dare you blame all of this on me, you selfish, dirty little rat!" She dropped his head with a loud thud as she leapt to her feet.  
  
"Ow!" Draco grabbed his head, groaning miserably.  
  
That was when Harry and the others saw the Mark.  
  
  
  
The rain was still pouring by the time they exited the Shrieking Shack. Ginny was still in a daze of sorts. This was certainly not how she'd thought the day would end up.  
  
She had located Draco's muddied robes and shirt, and had helped him into them silently. He hadn't looked at her once.  
  
"Well…we're going to have to walk back to the school now," Harry shouted over the rain. "We've missed the train." (A/N: I couldn't remember if they rode the train to Hogsmeade in the book or not-don't flame me! ^-^)  
  
Ron groaned loudly. "We'll bloody drown!"  
  
"Don't be stupid, Ron!" Hermione shook her head impatiently and made a swishing motion with her wand. "Umbrillious!"  
  
Instantly the rain stopped falling over their heads-it was almost as if a huge, invisible umbrella had appeared over their heads.  
  
"Wow! That was brilliant, Hermione!" Ron grinned at her, his dark amber brown eyes crinkling merrily at the corners. "I don't remember ever seeing that spell anywhere."  
  
Hermione shrugged, though she looked pleased. "Just a little something I made up."  
  
"For God's sake, will you two just get a room and go at it already?" Draco looked slightly green, and was slumping dangerously. "I'd like to get home sometime this week!"  
  
Hermione blushed violently, and Ron fisted his hands threateningly.  
  
"Draco-" Ginny put her hand on his arm and he looked down at her, shrugging it off with a disgusted look. Feeling wounded, Ginny pulled her arm close to her body.  
  
"We'll get you home soon," she said emotionlessly.  
  
He snorted. "I won't count on it, Weasley."  
  
"Just be good enough to keep your mouth shut in the meantime."  
  
Draco sneered but didn't say anything else.  
  
Sighing tiredly, she started walking off in the direction of Honeydukes trying to tell herself she really wasn't as disappointed as she felt. She really wasn't.  
  
  
  
"MotherFuffmph!"  
  
Ron's frustrated curse was muffled by Hermione's hand as they stared at the mass of rocks in the tunnel before them. Dust was still swirling thickly in the air.  
  
A cold chill ran through Ginny as they stood in the secret tunnel that led from the cellar in Honeydukes to Hogwarts.  
  
Wet and shivering, she closed her eyes and slumped back tiredly against the wall of rocky earth.  
  
"What are we going to do now?"  
  
"Voldemort did this."  
  
Harry looked over at Malfoy impatiently. "Why do you think that? He could have just brought the whole tunnel down on our heads and been rid of me once and for all. What makes you think this wasn't a natural occurrence?"  
  
Ginny watched Draco give Harry a smirk. "Do you really think he'd make your death that easy after all the trouble you've given him?"  
  
Harry's face paled slightly, but his eyes hardened dangerously. "You're already walking on thin ice with me, with the whole becoming a Death Eater thing, Malfoy."  
  
"Ahh. Stop. You're scaring me," Draco said mockingly. "You think you're coming off as being tough, but why don't you just admit it-we all know why you've made it this far. Pure dumb luck."  
  
"Stop baiting him," Ginny snapped suddenly. "I'm tired of listening to your tongue, Malfoy."  
  
"You didn't seem to mind my tongue the other night in the library, luv."  
  
Ginny promptly bit her tongue.  
  
Harry swiftly looked on verge of physical violence.  
  
"What did he just say?"  
  
Ron looked as if he'd been slapped.  
  
"Oh my God,"  
  
Hermione's eyes looked ready to pop from her head.  
  
"Ginny, you didn't!"  
  
There was a long moment of silence as Ginny felt her stomach clench and she sent Draco an evil look.  
  
"You touched my sister? I'll bloody murder you!"  
  
To Ginny's surprise, Harry's fist made contact with Draco's chin before her brother could make a move.  
  
  
  
Draco fought waking up with everything in his being. The searing pain in his arm was returning, and there were a hundred aches and pains stabbing through his body. He groaned and abruptly stopped as pain shrieked through his jaw.  
  
"Malfoy?"  
  
He opened his eyes to blurry darkness. "Gin?"  
  
"Now he's calling her 'Gin'?" He heard Weasley mutter in disbelief.  
  
"Quiet, Ron." Someone above him sighed-he recognized the voice as being Granger's.  
  
"Did you have to hit him so hard, Harry?"  
  
Potter made a nasty comment from somewhere over his head.  
  
Soft cool fingertips curled against his, and he realized Ginny was holding his hand. His fingers tightened around hers briefly and she dropped his hand as if it were covered in Bubotuber pus.  
  
Slowly everything came into focus, and he began to comprehend that that four-eyed git Potter had actually knocked him flat with one punch.  
  
How humiliating.  
  
Draco sat up, blinking in the near darkness and saw three pairs of eyes glaring at him. Ginny wouldn't look at him.  
  
"Want to try that again, Potter?" He forced himself to his feet and rubbed his jaw and chin with a tentative hand. Though he felt unpleasantly like something a Kneazle might have left behind in a litter box, he felt compelled to defend his manhood. "I won't be so easy to take down while I'm actually looking at you."  
  
"Just shut up, Draco," Ginny sighed, getting up from where she'd been kneeling next him on the ground. "Can we please get out of here?"  
  
Draco set his jaw and held his burnt forearm gingerly. He made a mental note that if he ever got out of the Death Eater mess, he'd be making absolutely sure to keep Ginny's mouth busy elsewhere-her tongue had far too much poison in it to be allowed to run unimpeded.  
  
"It'll take forever to get these rocks moved," he heard Potter say. "We'd be here for days."  
  
"There's nothing to help it, then," Granger said matter-of-factly. "We'll have to use the path through the Forbidden Forest."  
  
"Uh, Hermione? Do you really think that's a good idea? I mean, can't we just ask someone back in Hogsmeade for help?" Weasley swallowed audibly.  
  
The coward. Draco figured his back was a rather lovely shade of yellow.  
  
The fact that he himself had had a rather unpleasant experience in the Forest his first year that had made him run and shriek like a three-year- old girl child didn't matter one bit. He'd been…surprised was all.  
  
Granger took Weasley's hand and Draco wanted to throw up.  
  
"It's the only way around, Ron. If we go around Hogsmeade asking for help, who knows what Voldemort might do to those innocent people. We have to get back to Hogwarts."  
  
Draco surprised himself by agreeing with her. "Granger's right."  
  
After a full minute of surprised stares, he snorted in disgust. "Can we get on with it?"  
  
  
  
Ginny watched Harry look at Malfoy crossly. "You want us to walk across the Forbidden Forest at night?"  
  
Draco looked down his nose at Harry and crossed his arms, drawling importantly, "Well, I'm not carrying you."  
  
As Harry looked about ready to snap, Ginny leapt forward and caught his arms, turning him from temptation. "Ignore him, Harry. We have to get out of here."  
  
His green eyes looked murderous as he threw Malfoy a look over his shoulder and then sighed, straightening his glasses. "All right. I'll try to be civil-as long as Frankenstein's monster over there can keep his mouth shut."  
  
Draco snorted, but didn't say anything further, which was considered no less than a miracle by Ginny.  
  
The five of them retraced their steps through the tunnel, and back through Hogsmeade to the fenced off trail Hermione had spoken of. Thankfully the rain had stopped, and the moon was bright enough to light their way. They moved past the fence easily and took off across the forest, moving quickly but warily.  
  
After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Ginny heard Draco ask disparagingly, "Who's Frankenstein anyway, Potter?"  
  
  
  
No, the day was definitely not going as she had planned.  
  
"Don't talk to me," Ginny hissed as Draco hurried along beside her.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault you decided to wander off and lose the others- I was trying to help you, you ungrateful brat."  
  
"Yes, help me over a cliff," Ginny muttered nastily as she looked around for Harry and the others. "I did not wander off, either, I had to- well, it's none of your business, and if you hadn't been trying to spy on me, we wouldn't have gotten lost anyway!"  
  
"Spy on you?" Draco ducked a low hanging branch and laughed in his infuriatingly derisive way.  
  
"Why would I want to do that? All I'd get is an eyeful of freckles!"  
  
Ginny's patience had worn thin by this point, and Ginny saw red. She slugged him-right in his sore arm.  
  
"Arrgh!" Draco snarled and grabbed the raw Mark on his arm.  
  
Upset, Ginny was torn between an apology and smacking him again when he looked down at her, his eyes flashing bright silver in the moonlight, and grabbed her wrists.  
  
"Let me go!"  
  
"You've been asking for this for a long time, Ginny Weasley!"  
  
Eyes wide, Ginny felt him twist her arms behind her back and he pulled her against him. "W-what are you doing?"  
  
"Something I should have a week ago!" He ducked his head and kissed her, hard.  
  
Ginny tried jerking away from him, kicking him, and backing away from him-but nothing worked, and as a last resort, she opened her mouth to bite his lip-and to her horror, felt his tongue slip into her mouth!  
  
She made a sound of fury in her throat and tried to bite him, but he pulled away from her as if he knew what she was going to try and chuckled. His lips moved along her jaw line and down her throat, making her knees buckle.  
  
She closed her eyes as he nipped at the sensitive skin beneath her ear and she felt him lower her to the leave covered ground.  
  
"S-stop it," she whispered against his shoulder.  
  
He blew into her ear. "Make me."  
  
"I-I'll scream!"  
  
"Go ahead, I'd love to hear it-I had the feeling you'd be a screamer…"  
  
Ginny felt intense heat flash through her body; warning bells went off and she scrambled to move away from him-but he had his weight against her, and she couldn't go anywhere. She decided she was mad because she didn't really want to move…"Ooooh, I hate you…stop touching my chest!"  
  
"No? Guess I'll have to try elsewhere-"  
  
"Oh my God, you…you're depraved!" Ginny gasped.  
  
He pulled back long enough to look down at her with an unsettling grin. "Deprived is more like it."  
  
She didn't think she'd ever seen him grin, and it made her very worried-mostly because it made him look unbelievably handsome.  
  
"Please let me go…this isn't right," she said reluctantly several minutes later when he pulled away from her to breathe.  
  
"You don't want me to," he said arrogantly.  
  
"No…but we have to keep moving. It's dangerous out here."  
  
He kissed her again, wrapping his hand around the back of her head and caressing he nape of her neck.  
  
"Your hair feels like warm silk," he breathed into her ear a moment later.  
  
"I bet you've said that a million times,"  
  
Draco looked into her eyes, a serious expression on his face. "Yes. But I never meant it until now."  
  
Ginny almost melted completely beneath him then, but there was crashing sound in the brush nearby, and she heard Ron cursing about 'bloody huge spiders'.  
  
She expected Draco to move, but he didn't-he just stared down at her with the moon reflecting in his eyes.  
  
"Get up!" She hissed. "Ron will kill you!"  
  
He kissed her hard again and pushed away with a forlorn sigh. "It's actually Harry I'm wondering about," she heard him murmur, and she frowned in confusion before standing hastily, shaking leaves from her robes and hair.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke through the trees nearby, and Ron looked ready to strangle her.  
  
"Where did you go? What were you doing? Did Malfoy touch you? Are you all right?"  
  
"Touch her?" Ginny looked over at Draco as he laughed harshly. "Why would I want to do that? I already kissed her once, and it wasn't the best experience, I might add."  
  
She stared at him, stung, her heart thudding painfully in her chest, and watched, disbelieving as he smirked at her.  
  
"Although in her defense, I'd say she was more than willing to learn."  
  
I want to die, Ginny thought miserably, feeling hot tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"You might be able to do something with her, Potter," the tall blonde boy went on coldly, "No offense, Gin-I just don't have much of a thing for redheads."  
  
"You're suicidal, you know that?" Hermione huffed, suddenly straining with the effort of holding back two teenage boys.  
  
Ginny glared at Draco, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Let's just go, please? I'm really tired. I-suddenly feel horribly…sick."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"I say we turn him over to Dumbledore and forget about it," Ron was muttering sourly as they finally entered the main hall.  
  
"Well, we don't have much choice about that," Hermione said, looking distressed. "But he was obviously given the Mark unwillingly-"  
  
"How do we know that, really?" Ron countered. "Ginny said she wasn't there when it was given to him."  
  
Hermione looked unsure. "She said he didn't want it." She slapped her forehead. "Honestly, who would want it?"  
  
"My Father?"  
  
Everyone turned to stare at Draco as he muttered this bitterly.  
  
"Could you stop talking about us as if we aren't here?" Ginny commented peevishly.  
  
"Sorry," Ron said, not sounding as if he were really sorry at all.  
  
"For God's sake, just take me to Pomfrey and then you can go running to the frigging Aurors, for all I care," Draco bit out angrily. He was very grudgingly leaning on Harry's shoulder as they walked along, and was most unhappy about it. He didn't have much of a choice, however, seeing as Ron had managed to trip him on the way out of the forest, and he'd twisted his ankle quite painfully.  
  
"A trip to Azkaban sounds better at this moment than having to listen to you lot prattle on all night long."  
  
"I don't care if you are hurt, Malfoy-say one more word and I'll turn you into a slug." Ginny said this in a low monotone.  
  
"What happened to 'Draco, I think I love you'?" Draco growled mockingly to her under his breath.  
  
"I think I can safely say that's no longer an issue," she murmured back. "What was it you said that night in the library? Temporary insanity?"  
  
"Pity-guess you have no interest in finishing what we started back there in the Forbidden Forest, then?" He watched her with a detached expression in his silver eyes.  
  
"I don't understand you," Ginny whispered, shaking her head. "First you tell me you think my hair feels like silk, and then you-"  
  
"I'll go and fetch the Headmaster," Hermione spoke up suddenly. "Ginny, do you want to come?"  
  
"Please." She looked at Draco and bit her lip. "I'm sorry for all that happened to you-but, just leave me alone." Ginny hurried away with the other girl gratefully after giving Draco a pleading look.  
  
  
  
"What happened to her, Malfoy?" Ron asked threateningly, turning to look at him with angry brown eyes. His red hair was damp and spiky, and made Draco think of a ruffled rooster. A large, violently tempered rooster, but a rooster all the same…  
  
Draco smirked, deciding he had nothing left to lose. He might as well settle the dagger a little deeper. "Nothing she didn't ask for."  
  
  
  
Harry barely stopped his friend from settling his fist permanently in Malfoy's face-not that he wasn't tempted to do the boy physical harm himself…  
  
"Let's just get him the Infirmary so we can see about Ginny," Harry forced himself to say calmly. "Who knows what she's been through?"  
  
"If you did anything to her, Malfoy-" Ron began threateningly.  
  
Malfoy snorted in disgust. "What are you going to do about it Weasley? Put a hit out on me as soon as you receive your welfare check?" (A/N: I know, I know-there's probably no such thing as welfare there-it was too funny not to use though!)  
  
Harry shook his head and proceeded to help him up the stairs, almost wishing he had it in him to just drop the ferret flat on his ass.  
  
"It'd probably be a good idea for you not to bait Ron right now, Malfoy. Just this once."  
  
TBC  
  
(A/N: Sorry about posting this late-it ran longer than I expected. Hope you liked it! ^-^) 


	8. 8. Death Of A Death Eater

Author: Lee Velviet  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: This belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. etc. I own nothing!!!  
  
  
  
(A/N: This is a bit long-I hope you guys like it-so sorry about the wait. I appreciate all the reviews and e-mails! Thanks you guys, so much! ^-^ Yargh! I've fixed the oopsies, guys-thanks for pointing em out! Like I said, I ALWAYS miss something! About the whole Mark thing-I really don't know how to explain it-I'm just kind of using it as a connection between Draco and Voldie-I know the Mark doesn't necessarily make one evil, that Voldie just uses it to summon his followers, but I'm just kind of playing off it, using it to cause conflict and all-If I'm embellishing it in a bad way, I'm sorry, but I like to think it works in the story. Anyway,thanks again!!!)  
  
  
  
8. Death Of A Death Eater  
  
  
  
Unable to stay away, Ginny found herself wandering up to the Infirmary after she and Hermione had spoken with Dumbledore.  
  
She pushed through the doors, and immediately caught sight of Draco leaning against a wall, looking impatient-none of his wounds had been treated.  
  
She marched forward despite herself and snapped at him.  
  
"You complete and utter idiot! Are you just going to stand there and bleed to death?"  
  
"The thought had crossed my mind." Draco said rather unsteadily. "What do you care? Would you have felt some kind of remorse when someone finally dragged my dead body off in the morning?"  
  
"No-but it might put me off my food entirely." She shook her head and made him lay down on one of the beds. "Where's Madam Pomfrey? Where are Harry and Ron?"  
  
"Pomfrey wasn't here-they went to find her." He winced and hissed as she pulled open his shirt, and it stuck to the slashing whip marks on his abdomen.  
  
"Sorry…well, at least they're healing-they don't seem to be infected." She looked at his arm hesitantly. "How's your arm?"  
  
"It's still there." He closed his eyes wearily.  
  
She looked at the tired lines of his face, the unusual messiness of his hair, and all of her brains leaked right out of her head. She took his scraped, dirty hand into both of hers and stroked his knuckles with her fingertips.  
  
He took in a deep breath and opening his eyes, he looked at her in surprise. "I thought you wanted me to stay away from you." His voice was low and soft.  
  
Ginny stared at the scrapes on his hand. "I do." She sighed tremulously. "I- I don't know what this is…I mean, I hated you weeks ago…"  
  
"You're saying you don't hate me anymore?"  
  
"I don't know what I'm saying-I shouldn't even be talking to you." Ginny swallowed hard and looked at the wall nervously.  
  
"You do love me, don't you?"  
  
There was no mockery in his voice, no sign of censure or distaste. She looked back at him hesitantly, wondering if he was waiting to jump unmercifully on her next words.  
  
"This is all crazy, you know."  
  
"How very astute of you." He drawled jadedly.  
  
"Draco…" She looked at him helplessly.  
  
He looked away.  
  
"I was so scared back there…"  
  
"You were scared?" He snorted. "You should have been on my side of the room."  
  
Ginny tightened her hands around his, trying to convey her understanding.  
  
His fingers curled around hers hesitantly.  
  
"Are you admitting you were frightened?" She said this a little incredulously.  
  
He met her eyes with an odd look. "Only fools fear nothing, Ginny."  
  
She wet her dry lips and laughed. "So…is this still all my fault?"  
  
He cursed and pulled his hand away. "I'm bloody talking to myself."  
  
"I was just making a joke," she said hollowly, missing his touch, and hating herself for it. So much had changed between them in the space of a single day…it was disorienting.  
  
"No…I just-do you have any idea how hard this is for me?"  
  
She ran a hand through her tangled red curls, and swallowed. "I- I like to think I do-"  
  
"I meant, I…I was trying to say I was s-" He stopped, looking a little green.  
  
"What?" Ginny watched him closely.  
  
"I wanted to say I was so-" He clamped his mouth shut and glared at her.  
  
A smile curved her lips. "Draco Malfoy, are you trying to apologize to me?"  
  
"No…yes…" he mumbled, looking childishly mutinous.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"For blaming you-it's really not been all your fault."  
  
She gaped at him.  
  
He stared hard at the ceiling as if it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.  
  
"I wish I had a million Galleons!" Ginny shouted.  
  
He looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "What are you doing?"  
  
She shrugged sheepishly. "I never thought I'd hear the day when Draco Malfoy would apologize for anything-I figured if that miracle had happened, it was worth a try."  
  
He shook his head, "You are just strange."  
  
Ginny turned away, found a basin, and filled it with warm soapy water.  
  
Draco watched her approach with the water and a soft cloth, and arched one pale brow. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to clean you up, Mr. Malfoy." She dipped the cloth into the basin and wrung it out, and then brought it to his face.  
  
He grabbed her wrist, as if intent on stopping her, but then released it with a sigh. "Whatever. I'm too tired to argue."  
  
"Hmmm-If anyone walked in right now I'd be known as the girl who took advantage of Draco Malfoy, no doubt." Ginny smiled and swiftly washed the dirt and blood from his face. She rinsed the cloth, and started in on his hands-she glanced over at him briefly to see him resting with his eyes closed.  
  
"If this is your idea of taking advantage, I'm sorely disappointed," he murmured sleepily a few minutes later. "What's wrong? Potter not teaching you anything?"  
  
Ginny paused as she dabbed tentatively at his ribs. "You have a dirty mind, you know that?"  
  
"My mind is no dirtier than yours-don't bother denying it, either." He looked at her through heavily lidded eyes. "I know what I feel when you touch me, Ginny…and I know you feel it, too…no matter what has happened between us, or our families in the past." Draco licked his dry lips, and Ginny hastened to get him a drink of water.  
  
After, she wiped the last trace of grime from his chest, and laid the cloth and water aside. "What if I don't?" she said finally, not daring to meet his eyes. "What if I don't feel it?"  
  
Draco caught her elbow and she found herself being dragged down across him. She tried to keep her body from touching his half-raw wounds, but he didn't seem to care-he caught her lips with his, and ran his hand across her back, down to her hip where he pressed her close against him.  
  
Ginny sighed against him and looked at him owlishly when he threaded his hands through her hair and tugged her head away.  
  
He was breathing hard, and his eyes were burning silver-bright. "Tell me you didn't feel anything."  
  
She kissed him again, and he stiffened in surprise before he cupped her head and pulled her closer, his mouth hot and open against hers.  
  
She pulled away minutes later, sighing shakily, and moved off of him, her legs trembling.  
  
"I guess I'd be a liar," Ginny murmured somewhat regretfully.  
  
She busied herself yanking off his shoes, and then before she could think about it, she pulled off his filthy jeans too. She ignored his slight gasp as she pulled the soaking denim from his hips, and down his lean thighs. She tossed the ruined jeans into a bin in the corner and tried not to stare at the steel-gray silk boxers that were so thin they left hardly anything to the imagination, and in his present state-Ginny gulped and turned her widened eyes away quickly, blushing hotly. She ignored his amused smirk and dragged the sheets up over him to his trim waist.  
  
She took a step away before she dared to look at him again.  
  
He watched her with a look of yearning so intense it took her breath away.  
  
"Gin, I-"  
  
Just then Harry, Ron and Madam Pomfrey rushed in, with Albus Dumbledore drawing close behind, and Professor Snape near on his heels.  
  
Draco's face immediately closed up and went as cold as an arctic wind.  
  
Ginny ducked her head and withdrew from his bedside to retreat to where Harry and Ron stood. She ignored the curious looks they gave her.  
  
The elderly Headmaster stepped up to the bed and regarded Draco solemnly.  
  
"May I see?"  
  
It was obvious what he asked.  
  
Draco's jaw went taut and he turned his arm over, his hand fisted tightly. He stared at the ceiling, ignoring everyone.  
  
Ginny watched as the Professor bent slightly and looked at Draco's arm over his half-moon spectacles.  
  
After a long moment he sighed, and straightened. "Poppy…I believe this lad is in need of your assistance."  
  
"Yes Sir…" Madam Pomfrey stepped forward with purpose. "I'm afraid you'll have to go on, now, Ginny, Harry, Ron…"  
  
"All right," Harry said, and put his arm around Ginny's shoulder to lead her away.  
  
Ginny couldn't help looking back over her shoulder at Draco, and he met her eyes briefly just before the doors swung closed behind her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ginny decided she couldn't just leave him there like that…she knew she didn't want to be alone after all that had happened; Harry, Hermione and Ron were exhausted, and going on to bed.  
  
She waited impatiently until she thought everyone should be asleep, and crept into the boy's dorm to borrow Harry's Invisibility cloak. Harry had told her and Hermione the location of it in case of extreme emergencies…she felt horribly guilty as she tugged it from the bottom of his trunk…it wasn't really an emergency. She very nearly put it back.  
  
Ginny finally made her way back to the Infirmary under it, trying not to question her motives. It seemed she'd been questioning every move she made the past few hours, and it was wearing on her dreadfully.  
  
She crept through the door, holding her breath when she saw Snape still standing next to Draco's bedside.  
  
Draco looked so pale and worn, Ginny couldn't help herself-she made her way silently around the end of the bed and stood opposite Snape. She listened to Snape speak to Draco in quiet tone, and what the man had to say was shocking.  
  
"I'm very sorry to inform you, Mr. Malfoy, that we've received word of your Father's death." Professor Snape said haltingly.  
  
Making sure to keep her skin covered with the cloak, she reached her hand out and touched his shoulder.  
  
Draco didn't move.  
  
"How?" He asked this coldly, as if he didn't really care.  
  
Snape cleared his throat. "It was the killing curse."  
  
"Voldemort," Draco murmured.  
  
"Yes…" Snape laid a hand on his student's arm momentarily before moving away. "I'm- very sorry for your loss. If you need to speak…"  
  
They were empty words, words that were said often, and often not truly meant.  
  
Draco merely nodded. His features looked as if they'd been carved from stone.  
  
"I'll leave you be now," the older man said, retreating into the shadows, and then to the door. He paused, and said quietly, "Tomorrow will be a long day-I suggest you rest." Snape left silently.  
  
Ginny pulled the hood off her shoulders and tightened her hold on his shoulder. He didn't speak.  
  
"Would you like me to go?" She asked softly, looking down at his now bandaged arm.  
  
"Do you want to? Are you sure you want to be alone with a Death Eater?"  
  
Ginny's head snapped up and she met his eyes briefly before he closed his, and turned his head away on the pillow.  
  
"You should learn the difference between pity and sympathy, Weasley," he said tonelessly.  
  
"Don't start, Draco." Ginny sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling him forward into her arms. He rested his head against her hesitantly, as if he were unaccustomed to contact.  
  
"I can't believe he's gone…"  
  
"He can't hurt you anymore, Draco." She threaded her fingers through his mussed hair, wondering when things had turned around so.  
  
Draco snorted. "You know what the irony of it is? I cared about him-he was an evil, twisted freak, and he was my Father, and I still cared about him." He shook his head and slowly wrapped his arms around her back. "Voldemort must have been hugely pissed off after the fiasco in the cellar, to have killed him. Lucius remained loyal to him long after the others in their circle denounced him."  
  
"When I think of what your childhood must have been like…"  
  
Draco shrugged. "He gave me this life…such as it is. Besides, he wasn't always such a rotting bastard. He gave me a bloody enormous allowance, "the corner of his lips lifted in a humorless smile.  
  
As if money could ever make up for what he'd done to him. Ginny whispered against his temple, "We'll just remember him that way, then."  
  
He pressed a warm kiss to the underside of her chin and sighed, pulling away to look at her.  
  
"What did Dumbledore say?"  
  
"He believed me when I said I was unwilling…mostly because of what you told him." He looked at her searchingly. "Why would you have done anything to place me in a good light after what I've said to you?"  
  
She couldn't answer-her brain had officially shut down. She blinked at him sleepily. "I'm so tired-I don't know how I'm going to get back up to the dorms."  
  
He pulled her down beside him, ignoring her protests. "Go to sleep, and stop blabbering for a bit, you scrawny brat. Give my ears a rest. I'll cover you with the cloak-it'll be safe enough."  
  
Ginny rested her head thankfully against his hard shoulder and relaxed as he tugged the cloak over her head so that she disappeared fully.  
  
  
  
  
  
Draco lay awake for a long time despite his exhaustion. He felt as if he was standing at a crossroads, and he was unsure which direction to take.  
  
He listened to Ginny's even breathing, unbelieving that she was actually there-just that morning he'd been thinking of ways to make her absolutely miserable.  
  
Draco closed his eyes and wondered what briefly what had happened to Pansy. It was unfortunate, really, that she hadn't been found dead alongside his Father. It'd have saved him the trouble of strangling her when he next saw the conniving, scheming, evil little wench.  
  
Ginny stirred against his shoulder and he opened his eyes-he saw her small fingers peek out from the edge of the cloak and curl against his bare stomach.  
  
Draco felt his lips twist as his body reacted, and he almost felt sorry for the little Weasley-she had no idea what she was in for if she made the mistake of truly falling for him. He'd surely take advantage of her any way he could, and when he got bored of her, he'd kick her to the side like unwanted trash.  
  
He was after all, his Father's son.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ginny woke early and crept from Draco's bedside feeling unbearably guilty. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she left.  
  
She left the cloak on Harry's trunk, uncaring anymore if anyone knew she'd taken it, and went to her own bed, crawling into it and pulling the covers over her head.  
  
Clamping her aching, tired eyes shut, she burrowed into her pillow, and allowed sleep to overtake her, eager to escape her troubles for a even a little while longer.  
  
  
  
The school was buzzing with the rumors of the past night-Ginny found herself being bombarded from all sides, and was reminded disturbingly of her days following the incident in the Chamber of Secrets.  
  
She didn't see Draco all day Sunday, and she assumed he was still in the Infirmary. She felt guilty for not going to visit him, but she also felt guilty for thinking about it.  
  
On Monday, it was classes, as usual-Draco had still not returned. She continued to avoid contact with everyone, including Harry, Ron, and even Hermione. She was afraid of the questions they would ask-she still didn't know how she would begin to answer them.  
  
Tuesday brought no end to her troubles-nor did Wednesday or Thursday-and Ron managed to pin her down after dinner on Friday, making her absolutely miserable. He commenced bugging her unto Death about her 'relationship' with Malfoy-Ginny just withdrew farther into herself, refusing to speak until, with a worried frown, he finally left her alone.  
  
Later that evening, she was making her way back up the path to the castle from a much needed visit to Hagrid's hut-she'd taken to visiting him every few days, and it had become a comforting habit, sitting in the overly large furniture, listening to him talk about utter nonsense in his gruff voice, and drinking the too strong tea he brewed.  
  
He hadn't said a word about what had happened the week before, and she was greatly appreciative of it.  
  
She felt much better as she made her way up the stone path, feeling gravel crunching under her feet.  
  
As Ginny neared the torch-lit steps leading into the entrance hall, she heard steps behind her, and turned, thinking it was Hagrid-instead she saw the twisted expression of Pansy Parkinson-and the world went dark before a scream of alarm could escape her lips.  
  
  
  
Draco looked up boredly as Ron Weasley stormed into the Infirmary early Saturday morning, with Potter and Granger close behind.  
  
"Hurt yourself again, Weasley? Really, you should try to be more careful- the medical care here isn't free, you know. Haven't you got any respect for your impoverished parents?"  
  
He watched the boy step forward and he grabbed the throat of his pajamas. "What did you do to her, you stinking Death Eater?"  
  
Draco narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Ginny's gone. Don't tell me you don't know where she is!" Ron's eyes burned fiercely in his reddening face. "If you've hurt her, I'll kill you, slow-"  
  
Draco bared his teeth and tore his hands from his throat. "I don't know what you're on about, Weasley-are you telling me she's missing?"  
  
"As if you didn't know!" Ron trembled with his fury, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.  
  
"I haven't seen her in days, you stupid sot." Draco threw back the sheets, and stood, clutching his bruised side. "Between the three of you, couldn't you keep her safe, you pathetic fool? I suppose watching over one small girl was too troublesome for the Gryffindor Dream Team?"  
  
Ron watched grouchily as he went behind a screen to dress. "What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?"  
  
"I'm going to go find her, you useless prat." Draco emerged, clothed, pulling on his black robes.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere near her," Ron said angrily, standing in front of him.  
  
"Out of my way, Weasley-If Voldemort has got her, she doesn't have much time."  
  
"You don't get it, do you? I do not believe that you're concerned about her one little bit. You may have been able to convince everyone else that you didn't want the bloody Mark, but you can't fool me! None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for you! You're the reason he took her!"  
  
Harry seemed to agree with Ron.  
  
"Oh give over, Malfoy-You really expect us to believe that after all these years, you're suddenly suffering from quixotic impulses?"  
  
"What?" Draco looked at him-what was the prat going on about?  
  
"Nothing-it's a Muggle thing." Harry sighed, shaking his head. He looked at Draco appraisingly. "I really don't trust you, Malfoy. You've seen Voldemort and your father's work now." Harry looked at him, his eyes hard. "Where do your loyalties lay? What do you think, now?"  
  
Draco clenched his teeth and ignored him. "Do you want her to die?"  
  
Ron just glared at him.  
  
"Just stand here and keep blaming everyone else for everything wrong in your life, Weasley-I'm going to go find her." With a feral sneer, Draco turned and strode out of the Infirmary doors, ignoring the sudden appearance of Madam Pomfrey, and her shouts of protest.  
  
He was an hour down the trail in the Forbidden Forest when a breathless Ron. Harry, and Hermione caught him up, none of them saying a single word.  
  
  
  
  
  
A week later, Ginny had still not been found. That day they'd been all through Hogsmeade, and all around the surrounding area-They'd been ordered back to the school and told that the Aurors from the Ministry would be taking over the search.  
  
He'd been very nearly interrogated by the Wizard's sent from the Ministry to make enquiries-thankfully, they'd taken his word when he said he'd known nothing about it-because he'd been backed by Dumbledore himself.  
  
Draco had left the school to help attend to his late father's affairs, and to comfort his grieving Mother. He remained at the family home for several weeks, trying unsuccessfully to hunt down any of his Father's contacts, searching tirelessly through papers and his father's secret rooms and chambers for clues-but to no avail. His mother took to staying in her private suite, and he let her-looking on her reminded him of his father.  
  
He never stopped looking for Ginny, and from the letters and notes he'd been sent by Owl Post, neither had her brother or her friends.  
  
The Christmas break came, and to his surprise, the three showed up on his doorstep. They made plans to renew the search again, and question everyone for miles mercilessly-and, surprise, surprise, Potter had come up with a little information from an anonymous source, on where Voldemort might be hiding out.  
  
He had the House Elves show the trio to rooms in the cavernous manor, and retreated, because looking on them made him aware of just how much he missed Ginny.  
  
Draco ended the evening, as he had of late, sitting in his father's library, drinking himself into oblivion. He was very nearly there when the troublesome Granger wandered in with a look of disbelief.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Just experimenting with a little bit of destruction," he drawled, lifting his glass in a drunken sort of salute.  
  
The bushy haired girl came further into the room, still gaping. "You're sixteen years old! You can't drink!"  
  
Draco felt a brow raise, and took a very long, slow, very deliberate drink from his glass. "Oh, horror, I'm breaking a rule."  
  
"You obviously have rules of your own," the girl sighed, taking a seat nearby.  
  
"Hmmm," Draco agreed blearily.  
  
"Don't you think you've had enough?" She watched him doubtfully.  
  
"Not nearly, my dear Granger…not nearly enough. I can still remember her face."  
  
"How can you speak of her as if you care about her? Don't you have any sense of honor?"  
  
"I have mounds of honor, Granger, bloody heaps of it," he chuckled derisively. "Malfoy honor."  
  
"Truly? And what man honors himself to fight a girl?"  
  
Draco looked at her coldly. "What are you blathering on about?"  
  
"I know about the duel-I know you actually intended on dueling with her-a girl!"  
  
"Whatever happened or didn't happen between us is none of your business, Granger."  
  
"She's just a girl-she didn't know what she was doing when she challenged you," she protested.  
  
"Just a girl?" Draco snorted. "I'll have you know, that girl near cracked my shin, jabbed out my eye, and locked me in a shower stall in freezing water and left me all bloody night long. Tell me I shouldn't have wanted payback."  
  
Draco got up and unsteadily poured himself another finger of whiskey. He remembered the color of Ginny's eyes, and shrugged, filling the glass to its brim.  
  
  
  
Hermione watched the tall boy disapprovingly as he flung himself uncaringly onto a velvet settee.  
  
"Do you love her?"  
  
He looked at her from his slumped, careless position and smirked. "Me? Love a Weasley? Of course not."  
  
"Does she love you?"  
  
"Surely. What's not to love? I've got looks, money, influence…and a lovely outlook on life." He smirked again, and closed his eyes. "To tell the truth- which I am certainly not known for-I think she really does. I pity her."  
  
"Why do you think she loves you?" Hermione pressed.  
  
"Hell, Granger, I don't know!" He looked over at her in pure frustration, his eyes red-rimmed. "Why do you love Weasley? Why do the stars shine? Why does God suffer Voldemort to live?"  
  
"Calm down," Hermione sighed, rubbing her own eyes tiredly.  
  
Draco took a deep breath. "I lied, you know."  
  
"Big surprise," Hermione muttered lowly. "What did you lie about?"  
  
"I do love her-I think. I care about her, amazingly enough. I guess that's the real reason I pity her." She watched as he took another gulp. "Weasley was probably right, you now-all of this is my fault. Ginny would be safe now, if it hadn't been for me." He stared into the glass as he rested it on his chest. "Maybe I should just leave-move away, go to school someplace else, when we find her."  
  
Hermione noticed he said 'when' and not 'if'. 'When'.  
  
  
  
"Maybe you should let Ginny make her own judgment about you before you decide to just go," Hermione said grudgingly. She had never seen Draco Malfoy concerned about anyone besides himself.  
  
Draco took a long drink of his late father's whiskey, ignoring Hermione's look of censure, and lounged back on the antique velvet settee, eyes half lidded and bloodshot.  
  
"No…that's one thing about women," he muttered, slightly slurring his words together as he drawled. "They don't realize their mistakes until after they've made them; they never do. Look at my Mother." He laughed derisively and took another drink. "Listen to me being all bloody noble, when what I really want to do is-"  
  
  
  
Hermione cut him off. "I don't want to hear it-in case you haven't noticed, I am a woman-suffice it to say, I know a bit more about these matters than you. I think Ginny would be-upset-if you just left."  
  
Draco sighed.  
  
She heard his glass fall from his hand and roll, empty across the carpet, and she looked over, realizing he had fallen asleep. She got up from her seat and walked across the room to him, noticing with no little surprise how vulnerable he looked as he slept-and how very unhappy.  
  
His usually neatly combed-back hair tumbled messily across his brow, and his expensive clothes were stained and rumpled. She took in the Dark Mark seared into the sensitive skin of his inner forearm, revealed by his rolled up shirtsleeves, and shivered despite herself. She had come to respect him, grudgingly over the past few weeks, but she sensed darkness in him, and it frightened her. She couldn't trust him, and it made her extremely nervous…  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
(Review, Review! Please? P.S. For those of you wondering about the whole, 'Last Hogsmeade Weekend of the year' thing? I meant the year, literally- before Christmas, New years, and all I mean! ^-^) 


	9. 9. Hell Freezes Over...

The Wizards Duel 9  
  
Author: Lee Velviet  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! (Except that heavenly thing I call my computer! ^-^)  
  
  
  
9. Hell Freezes Over…  
  
Draco was very reluctant to meet Ginny's parents-he'd insulted them so many times he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable about them inviting him to their humble home to stay over the holiday break while he and the others searched for Ginny.  
  
He needn't have worried, however – Molly Weasley had greeted him with the same crushing hug that she'd given the others.  
  
Arthur Weasley had been a bit more conservative, shaking his hand briefly while giving him a skeptical look that reminded Draco strongly of his son, Ron.  
  
Draco examined the 'burrow' as Weasley had referred to it, realizing that though the Weasley's home was shabby, it wasn't anywhere near as awful as he'd thought it would be. Molly Weasley kept her home painfully neat and clean, and the furniture and décor had been tastefully chosen, even if it was now a bit on the shabby side.  
  
His Mother would have laughed at it.  
  
"You can kip in Percy's room," Weasley told him grumpily as he toted Granger's bags past his shoulder. "It's empty now he's moved into London."  
  
Draco vaguely remembered Percy Weasley – a tall, serious, red – headed boy, a Prefect, if his memory was correct.  
  
He walked after Potter as they climbed the narrow set of stairs, a part of him blanching at the fact that he was actually carrying his own luggage.  
  
Granger was settled into Ginny's room, which Draco noticed with surprise, hadn't been painted pink and decorated fluffily like he'd imagined. The brief glance he got of it showed plain white walls and soft green drapes, a white-canopied bed, and a matching green comforter. What set his temper to simmering, though, was the fact that she had plastered every picture of Potter she'd ever found in the Daily Prophet on her walls – he didn't seem to notice she had ton's of other pictures of her brother and Granger up, too.  
  
Draco settled into Percy's room, which was, thankfully, quite plain – his own suite of rooms at the family home had been so over - decorated in silver and green, so ridiculously ostentatious, he'd hated coming home to it during the vacations.  
  
He was hanging up his robes in the small closet when a knock sounded on the door.  
  
"Come in,"  
  
Arthur Weasley opened the door and stepped inside. "A word, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco felt his lips twist – so this was how it was to be, then. "Of course, Mr. Weasley."  
  
The older man narrowed his eyes suspiciously behind his glasses at the show of respect, and Draco sighed impatiently. "I'm a guest in your home, sir – and I might remind you, I am not my father. You can call me Draco."  
  
He watched the man blink and clear his throat. "Er, yes, well…I guess you may call me Arthur."  
  
Draco inclined his head slightly. "What did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"I want to know if you have any idea where my daughter is."  
  
"None." Draco stared back at the man steadily. "I may be a 'stinking Slytherin', but I'm not evil. I have the mark of a death eater, but that doesn't make me one. You can believe me when I say I want to find Ginny as much you do, and I had nothing to do with her disappearance."  
  
Arthur nodded. "All right."  
  
He watched Ginny's father walk about the small room, picking up objects here and there. "Was there something else?"  
  
"Ron tells me you and Ginny had a bit of a rivalry going on back at the school."  
  
Draco snorted. " Rivalry is a bit of a nice word. War would be more apropos."  
  
"He also told me she spent the night with you in the infirmary."  
  
His throat tightened, but Draco looked him straight in the eye. "Yes, she did."  
  
"Alone."  
  
"I guess you could say that…"  
  
Arthur pulled off his glasses and rubbed them on his shirt. "You do know she's only fifteen years old."  
  
"Almost sixteen," Draco felt moved to point out.  
  
"What I want to know is, what exactly are your intentions where my daughter is concerned? Quite frankly, I find the whole situation ridiculous. Our families have been on the odds with each other for generations – I wonder at the sudden relationship you two have seemed to developed. Why would you, a Malfoy, care about what happens to Ginny?"  
  
"I'm in love with her." Even Draco blinked when that came out. He'd said it, well and truly come out and said he was in love with that infuriating little brat Ginny Weasley. Hell must have frozen over…  
  
Draco almost would have grinned if the man hadn't seemed so serious – Arthur Weasley dropped his glasses and stared at him.  
  
"I can see where you might be skeptical about all this – but Ginny and I have been through a lot together this year. I care about her, and judging by her actions when we were taken by my- by the death eaters, I believe she cares about me. And I haven't taken advantage of her, if that's what you're wondering." Yet, added Draco silently with an inward smirk.  
  
"I – I see." Arthur retrieved his glasses and slipped them back on. He ran a hand through the thinning hair on his head, and sighed. "Well, then, if that's how it is…it's time we've dropped this whole family rivalry nonsense."  
  
He held out his hand and smiled at Draco for the first time since he'd arrived at the burrow. "Welcome to the family, Draco."  
  
~***~  
  
"Draco, dear, eat up – you've barely touched a thing. You'll make yourself sick, picking at your food like that. You're wan looking already – you could do with some fattening up," Molly Weasley clucked as she dropped another stack of pancakes onto his plate.  
  
Draco's eyes widened at the huge amount of food, and he winced as she dropped three more sausages onto his plate as well.  
  
"Mum, he always eats like a bloody bird – he can't eat all that." Weasley, who'd stuffed his mouth so full his cheeks were bulging, complained from across the table.  
  
Draco, already full near to bursting with best tasting breakfast he'd ever eaten in his life, narrowed his eyes determinedly and picked up his fork again. "May I have another helping of eggs, Molly?" he asked charmingly.  
  
The red –haired boy glared at his use of his mother's name, while Molly beamed and bustled about her kitchen.  
  
Potter actually grinned at him.  
  
Draco smiled smugly, but then groaned inwardly again when he saw the plate.  
  
~***~  
  
"This is bloody pointless! We can't find her this way!" Draco finally erupted in frustration at the end of their second day checking out the list of possible places Potter's 'contact' had given him.  
  
He was near choking on floo powder, and fireplace ash. His robes – and his hair, he suspected, if Weasley and Granger were anything to go by – were dusted liberally with soot, and he was fairly sure he'd ground his teeth into bits listening to Weasley's barbs all day.  
  
"We can't exactly apparate, yet, and we'd look more than a bit conspicuous zooming about the countryside on our brooms," Potter muttered impatiently, pulling a cobweb out of his hair with distaste.  
  
Molly came along, gasped at the sight of them standing in her living room, and bustled them out the door to shake off their robes.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, aggravated, as the meddlesome woman clucked her tongue and ruffled her hands through his hair to shake out the soot. He grudgingly stripped off his robe and pressed it into her waiting hands. Pushy woman. He wondered briefly if that was how Ginny would behave about their house when they were married.  
  
The realization that he'd just contemplated marrying Ginny Weasley struck him hard. A biting wind chilled his skin through the gray cable knit turtleneck sweater and black trousers he wore, and he stared blindly at Molly Weasley's smiling face, still in mild shock. He could see the shadows in her eyes, the unhappiness and worry she hid from everyone else – she feared for her daughter, and it was wearing on her. But she kept up appearances for everyone else's sake…it was obvious where Ginny had gotten her strength – and her stubbornness. A shiver ran through him and he stiffened his back against it.  
  
Draco couldn't tell if the shiver was from the cold or the thought of actually marrying into Ginny's family. He looked over at Ron Weasley and his freckled, soot smudged face, and smirked. The prat would have had an apoplexy if he'd known what he was contemplating just then.  
  
"C'mon, Draco, dear, in you go – I've got cocoa waiting inside,"  
  
He let himself be tugged inside the cozy little burrow and seated himself at the kitchen table. It might not be so bad, really, marrying Ginny. He'd have her completely, and utterly to himself – he almost grinned gleefully at the thought – and that alone would be worth being related to Ron Weasley.  
  
Draco wrapped his hands around the warm mug of chocolate he was handed, and he stared into it tiredly. Ginny…he'd found he couldn't bring himself to think about her too much – the thought of what could be happening to her, of what she might be going through – it made him both furious and ill at the same time.  
  
Draco looked at the clock above the table and examined the hands. Arthur was still hard at work at the ministry – the man had been there for almost sixteen hours…and Ginny…hers was still pointed at 'mortal peril'. No surprise there. At least she was still alive. He swallowed and was about to look away when he caught sight of something that made his throat tighten.  
  
His name had been added to a hand on the clock, and the hand was currently resting at 'home'.  
  
Draco shook his head and excused himself abruptly - he had a much needed appointment with a bottle in his room.  
  
~***~  
  
Draco sat upright in the bed, cold sweat pouring down his face, his breath coming in short gasps.  
  
As soon as he was awake enough to notice, he gripped his forearm with his hand and gritted his teeth against the blinding, burning pain that swept through it.  
  
An icy chill shot through his veins as he was hit with a jolt of realization, and he took a deep, calming breath.  
  
He was being 'summoned'.  
  
~***~  
  
The first thing Draco did when he arrived was to look down and make sure he hadn't splinched himself.  
  
He'd been forced to apparate, and though he'd done it with his father plenty of times in the past, he'd never done it himself. And of course, there was the fact that he'd just done it illegally, without a license. He'd have a warning letter from the ministry waiting on him back at the burrow when – if – he got back, he had no doubt.  
  
Draco looked around the dark, gray stone ruins of the castle he'd arrived in. Green lichen and moss climbed the walls, and snow had settled in sloping drifts throughout. He looked up and saw the night sky clearly – the roof of the place was long past gone, and he could make out the constellations plainly. The sky was slowly turning gray – it was near dawn.  
  
He rubbed an aching temple with his palm – he really needed to stop drinking himself to sleep every night. He wasn't sure how much longer his head could hold out.  
  
A scraping noise behind him caught his attention, and he gripped his wand tightly as he whirled toward the sound.  
  
"Ginny!"  
  
Draco took a step forward in surprise, wondering at the feeling of relief spreading through him. He was still piss drunk – he had to be, he was seeing things.  
  
Ginny approached him slowly, looking so familiar, and yet so different it made his heart seize up in fear. Her soft brown eyes looked as if they'd aged fifty years since he'd seen her last.  
  
She looked pale, but other than that, he couldn't see a mark on her. But he knew better than anyone, that some scars weren't visible.  
  
"Gin…are you all right?" He walked across the rubble to meet her, and before he knew what he was doing, he'd pulled her into his arms.  
  
She felt stiff and unresponsive, and he pulled away from her to look down into her face.  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
Tears coursed down her face as she stared back at him, unseeing.  
  
He cursed. She was under the Imperious.  
  
His eyes flickered down to her hands, and he only caught a brief glimpse of silver before she suddenly raised her arm and tried to bury the wicked looking dagger in her hand in his chest.  
  
Draco released her and jumped back, almost losing his balance – he lost his death grip on his wand, and watched the damn thing go flying with a frustrated growl.  
  
Ginny leapt forward, and took another vicious swipe at him.  
  
"Ginny, damn it, stop!" He ducked her and whirled around her to come up behind her and grab her arm.  
  
She elbowed him sharply in the gut, he doubled over with a gasp before straightening, throwing his arms up just in time to block a blow aimed for his throat, and received a nasty wound in the smooth muscle of his forearm.  
  
Draco hissed in pain, and then hooked a foot behind Ginny's knees, making her fall back onto the ground.  
  
An evil laugh caught his attention as he grabbed the pulsing rip in his arm, and his eyes darted over to see Pansy Parkinson standing several feet away.  
  
"Aww. Your girlfriend giving you some trouble, Draco, darling?"  
  
"You bitch…save your false sympathy for yourself," he snapped, and took a threatening step towards her. "Take the curse off of her, now – if you value your life."  
  
"How melodramatic of you, Draco. Don't worry, the curse will be gone – after I watch her kill you – and then kill herself. " The girl laughed again. "When my lord expressed his wish to dispatch you, I begged him to be allowed to see to it for him. It's been rather satisfying, seeing you and those worthless Gryffindors run yourselves into the ground searching for this silly brat." She motioned to Ginny, and she stood, the dagger still clenched in her hand. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when you both turn up on their doorstep – dead, of course."  
  
"The only thing that ends up dead around here is going to be you, you bloodthirsty witch," snarled Draco furiously.  
  
"I don't think so – look at you, Draco, befriending those insignificant bugs. You've gone soft."  
  
He glared back at her, his eyes glinting like molten silver. "I'll show you soft, you over-fed cow,"  
  
Pansy stiffened, her carefully made - up face twisting unpleasantly.  
  
Draco took advantage of her anger to knock the dagger from Ginny's hand and set her safely out of the way before snatching up his wand and turning back to face Pansy.  
  
Only she was nowhere to be seen.  
  
He turned in a slow circle, his breath coming quickly.  
  
All around him, the world was waking up – the sky was turning pink with the dawn, and the stars were fading…it was New Years eve, he remembered suddenly, vaguely wondering if he'd see the next year…  
  
And then, almost before he could blink, Pansy was directly in front of him, the discarded dagger flashing wickedly as it arced downward.  
  
Draco ducked, but the sharp point of the blade caught his cheekbone, slashing it open deeply. He flung himself backwards, and clamped a hand over the pouring, pulsating gash.  
  
Pansy snickered. "Oh, Draco, not your poor, perfect face! What's the matter, darling? You were always so jealous of Potter – now you'll have a lovely scar of your own for everyone to stare at, too. Aren't you happy?"  
  
His features twisted in rage, Draco tackled her – he knocked the dagger from her hand and grabbed the front of her robes.  
  
"I don't care how long it takes, one day you're going to be repaid in full for that – I may be in love with Ginny Weasley, but I'm far from going 'soft'. I'm still Draco Malfoy, and no one touches my bloody face!" He snarled in a fierce whisper through his teeth.  
  
Pansy only laughed at him – and suddenly disapparated right out of his arms.  
  
Draco listened to his own heavy breathing for a moment before rolling over and forcing himself to stand. He gripped his aching arm, finally noting with dark humor that the cut had slashed right through the center of the death eater mark. He heard a small whimper and looked up.  
  
Ginny was sitting on the ground, her eyes wide, her small form shaking violently.  
  
"D – Draco?"  
  
He stated towards her immediately, only to have her scramble unsteadily to her feet and back away from him. "J-just stay away from me…I - I want my mother…"  
  
Draco swallowed, and took a deep breath, trying to tell himself he didn't feel horribly disappointed. "It's all right, Gin…it'll be okay. I'll take you home."  
  
She buried her face in her hands and shook her head, her shoulders shaking violently.  
  
He thought she was crying, and moved forward to comfort her – by her next words and the sight of her robe sleeves falling back from her hands, and what they revealed made him stop in his tracks.  
  
Draco felt his heart stop as the dark mark on her forearm was exposed.  
  
"Nothing will be all right, Draco. Nothing will be 'okay' ever again…"  
  
TBC  
  
(A/N: Okay – so how many of you guys want to slap me? ^_^ Don't worry, I have explanations, really! Next, we'll see how the Weasley's react to Ginny's return and how everyone celebrates the New Year. We'll also see if Ginny really wants anything to do with Draco anymore…We're nearing the end of this fic ::sobs pathetically:: and I'm taking my time with it to make sure it ends exactly the way it I hope it should – and hopefully you guys will like it! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this; let me know what you think! Thanks! ^-^ ~Lee) 


	10. 10. Too Late

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, except the dumb plot. ^-^  
  
10. Too Late  
  
New Years Eve  
  
It was full morning by the time Draco appeared with Ginny on his arm, back at the burrow.  
  
Molly and Arthur were the only ones awake, and were talking in the kitchen over coffee when he dragged in.  
  
Molly let out an ear – piercing shriek at the sight of her daughter, and Draco collapsed into a chair at the table, weakly scrabbling for one of the cloth napkins folded neatly upon it. He watched Ginny's parents weep and hug the girl, and tied the piece of cloth around his bleeding forearm. He was pressing another to his cheekbone when a clatter of footsteps thundered down the staircase, and moments later, Granger, Weasley and Potter fell into the room, looking around bleary eyed, their wands in hand.  
  
They all shouted when they saw Ginny, and Potter's shoulders slumped in relief. He straightened his crooked glasses. "Thank God! When I heard that shriek, I thought we were being attacked by Voldemort!"  
  
Everyone gasped. Harry blushed. "Er, sorry – I meant 'he who cannot be named'."  
  
  
  
"You weren't far off," Draco murmured absently, and everyone finally turned to look at him.  
  
"What the bloody hell happened to you?" Exclaimed Ron incredulously, and normally it would have earned him a smack from his mother, but Molly Weasley had finally noticed the blood, and was gaping.  
  
"Oh, good lord!"  
  
Draco laid his head on the table, feeling too weak to hold it up any longer, and looked fuzzily at Ginny's white face before he passed out.  
  
~***~  
  
Draco woke up to hot, throbbing pain in his cheek, and arm.  
  
He opened his eyes, shifting uncomfortably, and saw he was back in his bed at the burrow.  
  
"He's awake," he heard a soft voice murmur, and he moved his eyes slowly to see who it belonged to. He was too scared to move his head – it felt like it had been swollen to twice its size.  
  
  
  
He narrowed his eyes when he saw Madam Pomfrey standing above him. Had the wounds been so bad they'd had to bother calling the poor woman from the bloody school?  
  
"Draco?"  
  
His eyes moved to see Ginny standing on the opposite side of the bed. He watched her and she dropped her eyes, taking his hand nervously.  
  
Draco tried to sit up, but Pomfrey, that old dragon, pushed him right back down.  
  
"You're going to stay right here in this bed and rest for a few more hours, young man. I'm not going to have my work damaged just because you're too stubborn to stay down."  
  
Draco opened his mouth to tell her off, but she abruptly turned and left the room, and he was left with Ginny.  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "How do I look?"  
  
"Not as bad as you think…Madam Pomfrey did her best – she healed everything, mostly, but you'll be stuck with scars. Pansy poisoned the blade…and even though Madam Pomfrey cleared that out of your blood stream with no problem, it's somehow keeping her from healing the scars. They'll be tender for a while."  
  
Draco sighed roughly. "Poison on the blade. That dirty, evil, underhanded bitch - she always has been one for excess. It's no wonder my bloody head feels like it's about to fall off."  
  
Ginny stroked his palm, sending tingles up his arm. She kept her head down as she spoke. "I guess you want to know what happened to me."  
  
"You don't have to tell me anything, Gin, unless you want to. I know what they're capable of." He moved his hand to carefully wrap it around her forearm. "It doesn't matter, what happened. You're still you. You haven't changed."  
  
"I have. That's just it, Draco. I really have." She looked at him, and the change she was speaking of was there in her eyes. He'd seen it before…  
  
"I grew up, fast. These past few weeks have shown me what hell is like –don't ask me to tell you what happened, I can't even remember a lot of it…but it changed me. What I do remember, I don't want to."  
  
"Ginny…"  
  
"I don't even know if I can trust myself anymore…everything is so different…I mean, I don't think I received the mark for any other reason than to torture me – or my father, for working against Voldemort…"  
  
"I love you, Ginny."  
  
Draco could have bitten off his tongue for saying it – but it had seemed like the right time to make his feelings known…  
  
She stepped away from him, and shook her head sadly. "How can you say that? I tried to kill you!"  
  
"It wasn't you, Gin," he protested, his chest aching intensely.  
  
"It doesn't matter, Draco. It's too late for that. Things change. And I - I don't love you…" she bit her lip, and tears sparkled in her eyes before she whirled and left the room.  
  
Draco stared after her in shock, before the hurt settled in, filling the sudden hollow in his chest. She's just a Weasley, he tried to tell himself numbly, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't a big deal – so what if she didn't love him? It didn't matter…he didn't need her. He didn't need anybody.  
  
Tears pushed themselves stubbornly out of his eyes and trickled down his temples into his hair and he reminded himself fiercely that Malfoy's didn't cry. Not ever.  
  
Draco closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep – when he woke up, he'd go home, and get the hell away from this family that made him feel far too much…and forget all about Ginny Weasley.  
  
~***~  
  
Ginny sat in her room alone, staring out the window at the snow that had begun to fall,  
  
Everything still felt so surreal. She couldn't believe she was really at home.  
  
She looked down at her sweater sleeve, which covered the hated mark on her forearm, and shivered, wondering if she'd ever really feel safe again.  
  
Ginny tried not to think about the things that had happened, but the memories were there, always there, waiting at the back of her mind to jump out at her when she went to sleep…she shook herself and went to the door. It was near midnight, and her Mum had wanted them all to be together for the New Year.  
  
She ran into Draco coming out of Percy's room in the hall.  
  
Swallowing, she looked at the disheveled state of his silvery hair, which had grown longer since she'd seen him last, and noted the familiar coldness in his hooded eyes which looked tired and bruised, before she dropped hers to stare at the bags in his hands.  
  
"You're leaving," she heard herself say flatly.  
  
He smirked, though it seemed he actually had to make an effort to do so. "Perceptive of you." He walked past her, leaving her alone in the hallway, and she felt her lip tremble as she bit back tears.  
  
She walked along behind him, staring at the back of his head, the broadness of his shoulders in his black and green robes. She'd told the biggest lie she'd ever told anyone to him that day, and she really doubted her ability to stand it for much longer. But she had to – she couldn't trust herself around Draco. She gave a watery chuckle and he paused momentarily before starting down the narrow stairs.  
  
Had she ever been able to trust herself around him? Probably not…  
  
She'd have to stay away from him, with Pansy still lurking about. She didn't want to end up really killing him…she loved him too much to risk being too close to him.  
  
It was really a pity. Her family, except for Ron of course, seemed to have really taken to him. Percy and the twins had shown up earlier in the day to welcome her home, and after Draco had finally woken up, he'd been introduced to them. They had been stand offish at first, but after a few games of chess, and a few mugs of butter beer, they'd been talking like old friends…yes, everyone had definitely taken a liking to him…her Mum especially…  
  
Ginny drew up short when she entered the kitchen, to see her mother hugging Draco Malfoy as if she'd never let him go. It would have been funny if the woman hadn't been crying.  
  
Ginny had hardly ever seen her Mum cry like that.  
  
She watched Draco return the hug awkwardly, and then he pulled away with an uncomfortable noise. Ron actually stepped forward to shake his hand, and Draco looked at his outstretched hand for a moment before shaking it briefly. Harry did the same, and then her father and brothers. Finally, Ginny watched disbelievingly as Hermione grabbed the tall boy up in a sudden hug, and whispered something in his ear that made his cheeks flush.  
  
"Oh! Look! Less than a minute!" Her mother pointed at the clock excitedly and took her fathers hand. "Stay Draco, won't you? Just for a moment."  
  
Draco nodded tautly and his eyes flickered over to meet Ginny's.  
  
"Ten, nine, eight – "  
  
Ginny stared back him, her heart feeling as if it were lying in the pit of her stomach.  
  
"- Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one – Happy New Year's!!!"  
  
Draco looked away as the rest of them cheered, and Ron, Fred, George and Harry set off the no heat fireworks that sent red and green sparks dancing merrily all over the kitchen.  
  
She watched him decline a glass of sparkling white grape juice, and saw her mother kiss him on the cheek. He patted her Mum's hand awkwardly, thanking her for her hospitality, and disappeared into the living room.  
  
Unable to stop herself, Ginny followed, only to see the tail of his robe disappear our the front door as he closed it behind him, leaving her in a rush of bitterly cold air, and rapidly melting drifting flakes of snow…  
  
TBC  
  
(A/N: Wow, two chapters in one day - what's the world coming to? ^_^ Anybody know where this is headed? ::grins:: Anyway, next chapter up A.S.A.P. Hope you liked it! ~Lee) 


	11. 11. Loyalties

Disclaimer: I own nothing! ^_^  
  
(A/N: I so totally owe you guys an apology – I haven't updated in forever, but no one will leave me alone long enough for me to even think about writing! God, that's frustrating! Anyway, hope you'll forgive me – I've managed to get a few things updated, and I hope you'll read 'em! I really appreciate the reviews, guys, and thank you!!! Luv ya! ~Lee ^_^)  
  
  
  
~***~  
  
  
  
11. Loyalties  
  
  
  
~***~  
  
  
  
…Draco cradled her against him, stroking her hair away from her face with a gentle hand.  
  
.  
  
"It's all right now, Gin – I've got you, you're safe…"  
  
  
  
Ginny looked up at him hazily – something wasn't right…he couldn't really be there, rescuing her from Voldemort and the torture of mad Pansy…  
  
  
  
She was just dreaming again.  
  
  
  
But his eyes were so warm, his touch so loving…  
  
  
  
She watched his hand lower itself to the bruises and angry, stinging red welts on her exposed skin, and felt ashamed –  
  
  
  
"They're going to die," he promised her grimly, his light, clear eyes frosty. "I'm going to kill them for you."  
  
  
  
"Draco…" Ginny shook her head – something was wrong…this wasn't him – this was a knight in shining armor, not sharp tongued, acerbic Draco Malfoy…  
  
  
  
Not her dragon.  
  
  
  
The ground beneath her shook, and she looked down in terror as everything turned black, and the world disappeared –  
  
  
  
Crash!  
  
  
  
"Fred!"  
  
  
  
Bang!  
  
  
  
"George!"  
  
  
  
Ka – boom!  
  
  
  
Ginny snapped awake, her heart pounding hard against her ribs, as the last clouded remnants of a nightmarish dream left her mind, and the unfamiliar feeling of blankets tangling around her legs made her feel slightly panicked.  
  
Her eyes darted around her room, and she felt a rush of relief – at the same time as she felt the entire house shudder on it's foundations as another loud explosion rocked it.  
  
"I didn't do it, no one saw me do it, and you can't prove anything!"  
  
Ginny fell back onto her pillows, rolling her eyes as she heard one of her twin brother's shout the familiar denial from nearby.  
  
"Bloody hell, the bed's on fire!" Ron yelled from somewhere overhead, promptly accompanied by an ear splitting crash.  
  
"Who took my wand?" She heard Harry exclaim loudly, and then there was a loud curse and another crash.  
  
Hermione shrieked in surprise down the hall, and there was a deafening groan and an angry, ringing rattle as the ghoul in the attic responded to the chaotic racket by pounding on the pipes.  
  
Ginny closed her eyes as she heard her Mum shouting threateningly over it all, and felt an unwilling smile curve her lips.  
  
She was home.  
  
~***~  
  
He was 'home'.  
  
Draco tried to savor the dead silence surrounding him as he awoke from his uneasy sleep in his opulent bedroom, but constantly kept finding himself listening for the familiar noises of Molly moving about in her kitchen, and Ron pounding with obvious satisfaction on his door at daybreak, demanding that he get his 'lazy arse' up.  
  
He rolled onto his side, and felt the soft, silky slither of his sheets slide against his skin, and found himself wishing, just for a moment, that the cloth was soft worn cotton, the bed not quite so wide, the world around him not quite so quiet…  
  
Draco sneered at himself. He was becoming a sniveling, sentimental fool.  
  
'That's what you get for spending all your time with those worthless Weasley's,' his late father's voice hissed inside his head suddenly.  
  
Pushing it away, he lifted his arm to glare at the pink scar slashing across his skin, disfiguring the black mark Voldemort had placed there, and then he raised his hand to feel the other on his cheek, which marred the perfection of his face.  
  
Damn Ginny Weasley. She'd thrown his life into complete turmoil – and he hated her for it, hated himself for letting her.  
  
The gray light of dawn peeked through his heavy bed curtains, and he closed his eyes again, almost in desperate need of sleep – he was weary, and sleep did tend to keep his mind off Ginny for a little while, at least.  
  
Draco buried his face into his pillows, and tried to shut out her memory – but her sweet, troubled face was there, her soft brown eyes haunting him, and after a few long minutes, he rose from his bed, throwing back the curtains with an impatient toss.  
  
Catching sight of himself in one of the many wide, floor to ceiling length mirrors that covered the walls of the large chamber, he paused, and he felt his expression tighten into a mask of angry disgust.  
  
Draco walked forward, slowly, and he looked at himself, his breathing suddenly coming fast and harsh in the silent room as he studied the ugly scar, which was slightly wider at the top of his cheekbone, and thinner at it's end.  
  
Finally seeing the thing disturbed him. He'd almost forgotten it was even there – he'd avoided the mirrors in the burrow, and had paid no attention to the dark ones in his room the night before when he'd finally arrived home. He'd simply pulled off his clothes, tugged on a pair of black silk pajama bottoms, and fallen into his bed, exhausted.  
  
As he watched himself, his nostrils flared, and his silver – gray eyes narrowed in anger beneath the disheveled fall of his stark, light colored hair, which was in clear need of a cut.  
  
The uncharacteristic, unkempt raggedness of his appearance, and the pink scar standing out sharply against his pale skin mocked him.  
  
He'd been changed forever.  
  
All because of Ginny Weasley.  
  
~***~  
  
Every mirror in his room lay in sharp, glittering shards on the floor of his room when he finally flung open the heavy double doors leading into his outer chamber, and stalked over to the wide leather couch set before the large green and black marble fireplace.  
  
Draco threw himself onto the overstuffed sofa, barely noticing the iciness of the surface against his bare skin, and frowned at the cold, empty hearth across from him. He then stared up at the ancient marble frieze above the doors, noting the fine layer of dust that rested upon it with a critical eye.  
  
His mother had been letting the house elves grow lax since in his absence – he'd have to speak to them about it…  
  
"I don't love you."  
  
He slammed his eyes shut as Ginny's trembling words echoed through his mind again, sending a hollow ache through his chest.  
  
Draco snarled and sat up, clenching his head in his hands, and leaned his elbows on his knees.  
  
"She's nothing," he whispered fiercely, gritting his teeth, grinding his palms against his eyes.  
  
"She's nothing!"  
  
'Then why do you still love her?' asked a mocking voice in his head.  
  
'I hate her,' Draco thought harshly, contrarily, 'she nearly ruined me, everything that I am. She made me lose my pride, had me nearly on my knees, kissing her bloody robe hem! A useless, good for nothing Weasley!'  
  
'And you want her still, even now,' came the detestable voice again. 'You don't hate her – you hate yourself. For succumbing to your emotions, something you swore never to do…for being weak - '  
  
"I am not weak!" Draco snapped at the bothersome voice, standing up to pace, feeling bitterly angry.  
  
'She is a lovely little thing – innocent…maybe that's what draws you to her. Her delicate skin, those tiny cinnamon freckles, her flaming hair –'  
  
'It marks her a Weasley – '  
  
'She has a good heart…'  
  
'That's exactly why I don't want it,' he growled mentally, pushing his hair from his face. 'I don't want her.'  
  
'Of course you don't – that's why every moment of every night you dream about her – '  
  
'I don't dream…'Draco denied heatedly. 'Leave me the hell alone…'  
  
'Whatever you say, mate…but you're bloody lying to yourself.'  
  
He shook his head, and stalked to the door. He leaned out of it, roaring impatiently for the house elves.  
  
He was in desperate need of a drink.  
  
~***~  
  
"Ack!" Ginny shrieked as a cold hand jerked back the neck of her robes and a handful of icy snow was dumped down her back.  
  
"Fred, George, you leave your little sister alone!" Her mother shouted out the back door.  
  
"Aw, we were just trying to make her feel at home again – trying to welcome her back proper, an all," George called, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have come out here," Ginny muttered, wincing as she wriggled to remove the rapidly melting snow. "You two are not to be trusted."  
  
Fred mock frowned. "Of course you can trust us, Gin – we're your brothers!"  
  
"Yeah, you know we love you," George grinned, rubbing the top of her head with his knuckles.  
  
Ginny stepped away, scowling. "I know you're both full of –"  
  
"Ginny!"  
  
She rolled her eyes as her mother yelled out the door again.  
  
"I'm going inside," she announced glumly, turning away,  
  
"Right - God forbid you actually see the sunlight," mumbled Fred from behind her.  
  
Ginny wrapped a hand around the mark on her arm, hidden beneath her clothes, and moved across the yard to the back door.  
  
She passed Hedwig huddled up resting on a snowy tree stump, and paused to pat the owl before walking inside.  
  
She took off her wet shoes, robes, scarf and gloves, before climbing the stairs to her room, grateful to get away from the insanity of her well – meaning family for a while.  
  
It was taking some time to get used to the routine again – she'd never really realized how frantic and fast paced her life was at home. It wasn't that she wasn't glad to be home – God knew she was – but that everyone was falling over themselves to make her feel welcome, and all she really wanted was to be alone.  
  
Well, no, that was a bit of a lie – she wanted to be with Draco.  
  
Ginny settled on her bed, pushing up her sweater sleeve to gaze at the mark burned into her forearm. It sickened her, and yet fascinated her…she caught herself staring at it all the time, waiting for something.  
  
Waiting for it to start burning the moment 'he' summoned her.  
  
Ginny again thought of Draco, wondering for what had to be the thousandth time, if he was thinking about her…  
  
He'd told her he loved her.  
  
That fact was still enough to make her cry – that and the memory of the hurt on his face when she'd thrown it back at him.  
  
Ginny swallowed, and again fought the urge to send Pigwidgeon off with a note, telling him she was sorry, she'd just thought she was doing the best thing…  
  
He probably wouldn't even bother reading it if she did send one…he was furious with her.  
  
The day after next was the day they were scheduled to return to Hogwarts…she was incredibly nervous about the prospect. The Ministry had opted to keep her at home, as she might be a danger to the other students – and Ginny had agreed. But Ron, Harry and Hermione, not to mention her father, had put up a howl, and she was being allowed to return to finish her fifth year.  
  
She was not looking forward to it – she'd be treated like a pariah, avoided, gossiped about, looked down upon – although no one would dare say a word against her, for fear of retribution.  
  
Ginny closed her eyes and fell over on her bed, burying her face in her pillow.  
  
She hadn't even thought about the fact that she'd have to see Draco nearly everyday…  
  
Someone knocked on her door, and she didn't answer, hoping they'd go away.  
  
"Aw, come on, Gin – I know you're awake…you've got an owl downstairs with a letter – you'll have to come get it. It nearly bit my hand off when I tried to take it for you."  
  
Ginny frowned. Who would be sending her an owl post?  
  
She stood up, and threw open the door to a very irate looking Ron.  
  
Her brother arched a brow. "Well? Got the guts to come and see who it's from?"  
  
Ginny's eyes flew wide. She pushed past him, and raced down the stairs, looking around wildly until she saw a pair of large, dispassionate looking golden eyes staring at her from the kitchen.  
  
The large, elegant looking eagle owl hooted softly and hopped down from the back of the chair it had been resting on, onto the dining table. It lifted its leg, watching her impatiently.  
  
She moved forward, holding her breath. She untied the rolled letter from the owl's leg, and absently offered it an owl treat.  
  
The owl looked at her, affronted, and took flight towards the door – Ginny rushed forward to open it, and the owl disappeared out of it.  
  
So whoever it was hadn't been expecting a reply.  
  
She unrolled the letter, and examined the familiar green scrawl.  
  
It was from Draco.  
  
Ginny stared at the letter…and tucked it away without reading it.  
  
~***~  
  
They were late getting to the train, seeing as their Mum almost refused to let Ginny go.  
  
And of course the first person Ginny saw was Draco Malfoy.  
  
He was standing next to the train, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at anyone who dared even a glance his way.  
  
She hid behind Harry and Ron, as they moved along the platform to the train, hoping he wouldn't see her. She knew she was being a coward, but she couldn't quite bring herself to face him…  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard a familiar drawl behind her as they boarded.  
  
"I believe they have a special area reserved for us Death Eaters in the back, Ginny," Draco said in a carrying, sardonic tone.  
  
Ginny blinked back tears as he mocked her, and several people around them gasped and stepped away.  
  
"Shut it, Malfoy!" Ron snapped, stepping around to shield her.  
  
She turned to look back at Draco over Ron's shoulder, and saw him smirk back at her.  
  
In that moment, she realized it was to be as if the past months had never happened.  
  
Draco's silvery eyes were icy as they rested on her, and she wanted to cry – the boy who'd risked his own to save her life, and professed his love to her so warmly and openly had completely disappeared.  
  
She eyed the scar on his cheekbone regretfully – the tightening of his jaw was the only sign that the sight of her affected him at all.  
  
"C'mon, Gin," said Ron gruffly, and she turned back around, and allowed Harry and Hermione to tug her up the steps into the train.  
  
~***~  
  
She'd thought it was going to be hard, retuning to school, everyone knowing what had happened, what she'd been through, but she'd been wrong.  
  
It was bloody nightmare.  
  
She always had people staring at her, staring at her arm, and then there were the people who openly ignored her, or were actually frightened of her.  
  
Ginny knew it had to be worse for Draco – half the kids in his own house considered him a traitor, he received even more stares from people than she, with the scar slashing down his cheek, and he was always in trouble, even as sneaky as he was, for getting into fights with the other boys.  
  
Spending a lot of time alone those last months hardened her up – she grew immune to the cruelty of her classmates, and became adept at avoiding Draco – not that he ever showed any interest in speaking to her anyway…  
  
And then came the day late in the term, when he proved her thought wrong.  
  
Ginny hadn't ever thought that anyone could be crueler than Draco when it came to teasing…  
  
Which was why it was such a surprise to see hear him defending her.  
  
She was walking out of the great hall, in the middle of the lunch hour, because she couldn't stand the staring anymore, even though Ron and the others had been trying to talk to her, and distract her…  
  
She had her eyes on the floor, clutching her books to her chest, rounding a corner, when she heard his voice and stopped in her tracks.  
  
"…Even think about her. She doesn't even exist to you."  
  
Ginny flattened her back to the wall and peered rather guiltily around the corner, shaking her hair from her eyes.  
  
Draco had three boys cornered by the stairs in the main hall – and she narrowed her eyes.  
  
Was the boy never happy unless he was terrorizing someone?  
  
"C'mon, Draco – we weren't going to hurt her – "  
  
"Did I give you permission to speak, you little worm? I heard you – and what you three were planning most definitely would have harmed her…"  
  
Ginny frowned, watching him step closer to the boys, whom she now recognized as three of the seventh years from Slytherin.  
  
"- Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with even thinking about touching something of mine?"  
  
She blinked at the acidic tone that belied the coldness of his near whisper. What was he talking about?  
  
She stared at the tenseness of his shoulders, and then at the expressions on the older boys' faces. The tallest, meanest looking one, topping Draco by at least six inches, stepped forward, a sneer on his face.  
  
"Come off it, Malfoy – she's just a bloody Weasley. Everyone knows what happened between you two – besides, we've never seen you with her, it's obvious she doesn't want anything to do with you…"  
  
"You'd be doing yourself a favor, shutting up right now," answered Draco threateningly, and Ginny watched him fist his hands with a sense of foreboding.  
  
"Even if she did want anything to do with you…didn't you know you're supposed to share with your housemates?"  
  
From the look on the boy's face, it seemed even he had realized he'd gone too far.  
  
Ginny bit back a gasp when she saw Draco's fist fly out and clip the older boy on the jaw.  
  
Just as quickly, he had his wand in his other hand, and he stunned the other two advancing boys.  
  
They slid to the floor silently.  
  
She bit her cheek, watching him kick the tallest boy rather viciously.  
  
"If I ever see you near her – hell if even hear her name escape your lips, I'll show you exactly just what kind of legacy my father left me, you craven bastard," Draco snarled through his teeth.  
  
Eyes wide, she looked after him as he raked a hand through his hair, cast a look about him, and dropped his wand back into his pocket.  
  
"See you boys at Quidditch practice."  
  
Ginny watched in disbelief as he carelessly, lazily strolled away from the three inert figures without a backwards glance.  
  
~***~  
  
TBC 


	12. 12. Immoral Imperatives

12. Immoral Imperatives  
  
~***~  
  
Disclaimer: Yay, I own it! I'm so rich! ::blinks:: Oh, wait. No I don't. Damn!  
  
~***~  
  
(A/N: Okay, it's here, at last - at least it wasn't my fault this time. ^-^ Anyway, the story  
  
had gone and evolved itself again - meaning I think I've gone and made it all dark and  
  
angsty again, completely against my will, of course, and it comes complete with quotes  
  
from my own personal collection - whoopee. The idea for this chapter was all Draco's  
  
fault, so if you guys dislike it, blame him - he doesn't mind. ::wink:: Next chapter's  
  
going to be dark, be warned. Love Ya! ~Lee)  
  
~***~  
  
'The most momentous thing in human life Is the art of winning The soul to good or evil.' -"Pythagoras", From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers,  
  
Bk.VIII  
  
~***~  
  
'There are some men who are Fortune's favorites, and who like cats, light forever on their legs.' - Colton  
  
~***~  
  
Draco didn't speak to Ginny again until the train ride to Hogwarts the next term. He really should have been grateful. She'd made absolutely no effort to speak to him, that last half of the term before the summer holiday, hadn't even bothered herself to look at him.  
  
He'd finally convinced himself he didn't really care.  
  
That was when her mother started mailing him letters about how she distant Ginny was, voicing her concerns.and had practically begged him to write to her. She was despondent, wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep.  
  
He had, grudgingly, after a time penned a carefully impersonal note, inquiring after her health, wary, because she'd never responded to his last one - but she never replied. That had only served to make him exceptionally irate - and he'd sent her a letter every day thereafter, just to get on her nerves.  
  
Of course he never even received even so much as a bloody Howler in return.  
  
Then Molly had requested that he come to see her over the summer - but he couldn't make himself go. Draco had truthfully been scared of what he might do when he saw her. Instead he politely declined, and busied himself with sorting out the massive mess that Lucius had left behind. The amount of Dark Arts paraphernalia that the ministry officials hadn't found, alone had been mind boggling - but it had been easy enough to get rid of, what with that snakey old bastard in Knockturn Alley offering a bloody fortune for the stuff, and half of it being worthless junk.  
  
Not that he was anywhere near poor, but the debts and bills Lucius had left unpaid, along with the penalties the ministry had slapped him with when they'd raided the manor directly after his father's death had added up to a healthy amount.  
  
In September, a limo dropped him off in front of King's Cross, and he made his way through the crowds, feeling impatient, bored, and far too old to be going somewhere as menial as school.  
  
He had a terrific headache, and as a result, his mood was particularly black, as was his expression, but it did seem to serve to clear a path for him through the waves of Muggles mucking about the place.  
  
Draco approached the platforms, looking out over the heads of several dozen, nervous looking kids who wandered about chattering at insane speeds, and pushing carts loaded with luggage and caged pets.  
  
He at last made his way through the wall onto platform 9 and ¾, for the last time as a Hogwarts student, and, incredibly, suddenly felt almost regretful.  
  
Draco looked at the first years staring in awe at the scarlet red Hogwarts Express, and remembered vaguely his first visit to the platform in his first year. He hadn't been nervous or awed by anything. He'd arrived at King's Cross fresh from one of his father's 'lectures', and had been aggravated beyond his means to control himself. He'd managed to annoy a few, intimidate many, and make enemies of Potter, Weasley and Granger, all before dinner time.  
  
No, he hadn't been at all nervous. He'd walked into that school intent on owning it.  
  
"Malfoy!"  
  
At the loud hiss, Draco tore himself from his thoughts. He looked around to find Ron Weasley standing nearby, reluctantly waving him over. He was trying very hard to look inconspicuous while doing it, and failing miserably.  
  
Draco would have cheerfully ignored the flame headed git if Molly hadn't been standing right there.  
  
He set his jaw and leisurely sauntered over, summoning a very slight smile for the weary looking red haired woman.  
  
In the process of pinching her son's spotty cheek, Molly caught sight of Draco and lunged forward to envelop him in a crushing hug. He allowed himself to very briefly return it, before pushing away, aware of several people staring. He schooled his features into a practiced glare of distaste. It didn't fool Molly - she just sniffed and reached up to pinch his unscarred cheek all the same, winking.  
  
Draco rubbed his reddening cheek and exchanged a suffering look with her son. "Mrs. Weasley," he greeted her at a safe distance.  
  
"It's Molly, I told you," the woman said insistently, looking ridiculously motherly with her faded knit cap and softly graying red curls.  
  
"Right - er, Molly," Draco murmured disdainfully.  
  
"Malfoy," Weasley greeted him stiffly.  
  
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly chastised loudly, making her son's ears redden.  
  
"His name is Draco - use it!"  
  
Ron glared at him with icy eyes, and bit out the single word, his gruff voice dripping with loathing. "Draco."  
  
Draco smiled thinly. "Weas - Ron.I trust you're doing well?"  
  
The boy seemed to be chewing on his tongue.  
  
"So.is Ginny about?" Draco wanted to bite his own tongue for blurting that.  
  
"Oh, she's already boarded," Molly said somewhat sadly. "I'm worried about her.she's been so quiet, you know, since - well, you know. Not that she hasn't a reason to be, mind you, but she refuses to do anything to help herself.she's so blessed stubborn, like her father you know."  
  
"Like you," Ron said between coughs into his hand.  
  
"Perhaps I should brew up some of Grandma Florentina's cough elixir for that -"  
  
"Er - bye Mum!"  
  
Draco watched, amused, as Ron kissed his mother's cheek with comic haste and rushed off.  
  
"Works every time," Molly murmured thoughtfully as she watched her youngest son disappear.  
  
"Wonder if that would work with creditors," Draco said, smirking.  
  
"How have you been, Draco? Arthur said the Ministry hit you pretty hard. I've been worried about you."  
  
"Molly, you shouldn't waste your time worrying about me - I always manage to land on my feet. I am a Malfoy, after all."  
  
"Don't be pissin' on me leg and calling it rain," the woman said brazenly, the crude turn of phrase at odds with her motherly appearance and the stern look on her face.  
  
Draco was hard pressed not to laugh out loud. He fought to keep his expression bland, but felt his lips twitch against his will.  
  
"She loves you, you know." The sudden quiet statement in the midst of the noise and bustle seemed louder than a shout.  
  
Draco looked down at her with a carefully blank face. "She told me she didn't. She wouldn't answer my letters. I think that pretty much finishes it."  
  
"She read every single one, Draco. Maybe not at first, but she eventually just sat and read every one of them. I well remember - she wouldn't come out of her room for two days, after."  
  
While he stared at her, speechless, she squeezed his arm in an encouraging manner.  
  
"Don't give up on her. Please. She needs you. Ginny -" Molly sighed and shook her head.  
  
"She's always been special - "  
  
"Especially troublesome." Draco muttered under his breath.  
  
"- unselfish, you know. She thinks she's protecting you by staying distant, since, well.you know. That."  
  
Draco knew very well what 'that' was. 'That' had kept him up sleepless many a night since.  
  
" I believe she's forgotten that I too, have been there, done that, and received the souvenir t - shirt," he finally managed to mutter.  
  
In his personal opinion, Ginny was being incredibly selfish, and he was getting bloody tired of it. He supposed he'd have to do something about it.but then, why bother? She'd already been much more trouble than anyone was worth. He'd just go about ignoring her, much as he had last year.  
  
'What if she's summoned?' An unwelcome voice asked perversely. 'What if she's threatened? You'll go rushing off like some aspirant Potter, champion of the unfortunate and foolish, to save her.'  
  
Again.  
  
As if the words 'moral' or 'imperative' had ever been in his vocabulary. He'd always been known for his extraordinary lack of principles, after all. Everyone had always looked on him as being the villain, anyway, and it was a role he'd been born into. Why should he care about her eventual fate? Only a maudlin fool would.  
  
And so, it always came back to his recently inconvenient, appalling, and completely unwanted, recurring attack of conscience.  
  
Draco brought a hand up to rub his jaw thoughtfully, unaware of his darkening, malevolent expression.  
  
Molly cleared her throat.  
  
The smile he gave her as he slowly redirected his attention to her wasn't in the least reassuring. "Anyway - I'm in as much danger as she is." In more ways than one, he added silently.  
  
"I know, dear, I know," Molly sighed again, her hands worrying, twisting about the handle of her handbag. "You have no idea what I had to do to get her to just come back to school this year."  
  
Draco looked away, and suddenly narrowed his eyes threateningly on a first year staring at him open mouthed through a window on the train. The girl squealed loudly and abruptly disappeared.  
  
He rolled his eyes in irritation, and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.  
  
"You do still care about her, don't you?" Molly prodded.  
  
Draco gave his head an impatient shake. The woman was ruthless. It was no wonder he had come to feel a reluctant admiration for her.  
  
"I find this whole situation highly unlikely. I can't believe I'm standing here, talking about the details of my private life with you, of all people." He tried to make himself sound insulting, but his tone came out as being merely exasperated instead. Which he really was. Molly was reminding him of his feelings again, and didn't know what to do with himself. He was very nearly ready to shout himself witless.  
  
The departure whistle sounded, and Draco found himself on the receiving end of those weary, pleading eyes again.  
  
"What are you thinking, dear?"  
  
"I'm trying my best not to think at this point,"  
  
"A fine feat if you can manage it."  
  
He turned away to board the train with a curse, and completely missed the cunning, triumphant smile on Molly's softly lined face.  
  
~***~  
  
'Words are arrows and should not be shot at random. Silence is a gift without peril, and a treasure without enemies. Those who speak are not serious enough, and those that hear are too serious.'  
  
~***~  
  
"You actually think the Cannon's are going to make it to the playoffs?"  
  
"Why not?" Asked Ron belligerently.  
  
Seamus looked at Harry. "How thick can you get?"  
  
Ginny sat quietly in a darkened corner of the compartment she shared with her brother, Harry, Hermione and Seamus, who'd dropped in to say hello, and had consequently ended up talking Quidditch. She remained silent throughout the discussion, thanks to a Distraction Charm Hermione had cast. Although Seamus was one of the few still in acceptance of her, she had no intention of giving him any cause to be nervous by drawing attention to herself, but had to bite her lip against a grin.  
  
"Can it, Seamus, if you like your eyebrows where they are," said Ron threateningly. He was fiercely protective of the Cannon's.  
  
"Hey, don't you dare - they only just finally finished growing back!" Seamus threw his hands protectively over the dark arches of his brows.  
  
"Don't your parents know by now to take your wand away as a safety precaution over the summer?"  
  
Harry snorted suspiciously.  
  
"Why do you automatically assume that it was my doing, Weasley? I'll have you know, it was me Dad's fault - he was setting up this new Muggle grill he bought, and was making me watch for something or other, and next thing I know, this bloody huge flame comes bursting out of the cursed thing, and I'm without me eyebrows again!" Seamus looked at them sufferingly and then glared at Ron as he snickered, and pulled out his wand.  
  
"Don't you dare laugh - it's getting downright traumatic, I tell you!"  
  
Ginny bit the inside of her cheek and locked eyes with Hermione, who was rolling her eyes.  
  
"I'm goin' to sit with Longbottom - I'd rather go searching for Trevor, really." Seamus left with a scowl.  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Seamus - don't go off all mad - " Ron got up and walked after the other boy with a sigh.  
  
Harry stood up too, and looked after Ron with a shrug. "I better go with him - else Seamus is liable to singe himself again."  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes as she watched the boys go.  
  
Hermione shook her head. "Boys are such a bother."  
  
Ginny smiled and then froze as another figure filled the compartment doorway.  
  
It was Draco. He was looking down at them, faintly bored, slightly amused.  
  
He'd changed somehow, she noticed, after she got over her first, initial surprise at seeing him. It wasn't really clearly apparent just how, but it was there, that something, however well hidden it was.  
  
Ginny stayed perfectly still and silent.  
  
His eyes went right to her, none the less.  
  
"Really, Ginny. A Distraction charm? Parents use that on their two year olds at dinner parties," Draco drawled, stepping inside.  
  
Hermione stood up, and Ginny took a deep breath.  
  
"I really don't think this is the best time, Malfoy."  
  
Draco didn't even spare Hermione a glance.  
  
"Get lost, Granger."  
  
"Why you - !"  
  
Ginny gave Hermione's robes a sharp tug and the irate girl whirled on her.  
  
Ginny arched her brows and the pleadingly looked at the door.  
  
"Don't you look at me in that tone of voice!" Hermione snapped and Ginny gave her a frustrated, fierce look.  
  
There was a wavering shimmer in the air as Hermione sighed, and withdrew her wand from her pocket. She gave her wand a perfunctory flick so that the simple charm that Ginny had requested she cast was broken. It had been ever so slightly diverting the attention of anyone not in the compartment when it was cast, from Ginny.  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea," Hermione insisted, turning away, but looking back at Ginny over her shoulder. "Hermione, please?"  
  
She finally gave in at Ginny's insistence, and stepped around Draco shooting him a narrow look before she left, sliding the door closed behind her.  
  
"Appointed herself your nursemaid, has she?"  
  
Ginny looked up at him and cleared her throat nervously. "She just doesn't want to see me get hurt."  
  
He turned his pale, unnerving glance on her, and she felt her heart jump.  
  
"Did you want something?"  
  
He laughed in his mocking way, but she found herself staring, entranced by a slight dimple in his cheek that she'd never noticed before.  
  
"I was just thinking, wondering actually - if you had had black or brown hair, if I'd have ever paid any attention to you at all." His eyes moved over the soft fall of her loose red curls, and she wished she'd pulled it all back into a braid.  
  
She crossed her arms and shifted on her feet uneasily. "I recall having to dump ink practically in your lap to get you to pay any attention to me. I don't think the color of my hair factored into it at all."  
  
Draco shrugged carelessly. "You're probably right - I didn't fall in love with just your hair, after all."  
  
The well aimed barb hit its mark and Ginny felt herself go pale. He was goading her, it was nothing new; Draco never had been one predisposed to compassion or honor. Her hurt showed on her face she knew, but his cold expression said clearly that he really didn't care.  
  
He had a right to be angry, and she'd known he was.  
  
She just hadn't realized he'd actually seek her out.  
  
~***~  
  
TBC  
  
(A/N: Next, Pansy makes an appearance! Muwhahahahahahaha - ::coughs:: -hahahh, ahah, ahh ha ha. ::ahem:: Okay.er.later. ^-^) 


	13. 13. The 'Gift'

~***~  
  
13. The 'Gift'  
  
~***~  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the stupid plot!  
  
~***  
  
(A/N: Okay - I know this is categorized as being a Romance/Humor, and it was at the beginning, but it kinda' turned out to be more of a Romance/Angst - anyway, I just want you guys to know I am aware of that, and I'm sorry if anyone who just started reading this fic has felt a little misled.  
  
This story has just kind of grown into this thing, and I'm thinking about extending it to be a chapter or two a bit longer than I originally had planned, so if you have comments or whatever, let me know.  
  
Also, I know there are some spelling and grammar errors, especially in earlier chapters and I apologize - I'll really try to go back and fix those. The errors in the past chapter came up three or four different times while I was trying to post, and no matter what I did to fix them on my computer, they just kept staying that way on the document manager, so I finally just posted it - sorry again, I know they're annoying.  
  
This chapter is dedicated to those of you that reviewed, and continue to keep up - or rather, put up - with my sporadic updates - I really appreciate your opinions, and your input. Oh, and I love you! I hope you guys like this one! THANK YOU! ^-^ ~ Lee)  
  
~***~  
  
She truly felt like she might faint.  
  
He was really here, after a summer of dreaming, and she knew what he was, who he was, and here she stood, still stupidly waiting for a kind word after what she'd done to him.  
  
Ginny took a moment to study him, her chest aching with the need to reach out and touch him. He had matured since she'd seen him last. He looked frighteningly even more like his father, with his frosty eyes and hair. If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have grown taller, and his shoulders had broadened, definitely, but there was something else that made him seem so much older. There was a hardness about him that spoke volumes of his experiences of the past year.  
  
There was very little of the selfish, thoughtless boy about him anymore. He'd grown in more ways than in just his outward appearance.  
  
This was a man, and he was definitely dangerous. Especially to her.  
  
The changes in him were so at odds with her memories that it startled her. He was Draco, and yet so evolved in his usual mannerisms it made her feel as if she'd never really known him.  
  
He'd moved beyond the juvenile cruelties of his childhood, and what he'd grown into was far darker, so tangibly sinister and brooding, that she found herself actually frightened by him.  
  
Draco had been forced into adult responsibility harshly and without warning, and it showed.  
  
Ginny realized then that though she'd thought she was trying to protect him, her lie had hurt him more than it had helped him. No one had loved him his entire life, and she'd been unbelievably cruel herself by giving him her love and then cutting herself off from him completely.  
  
"You must hate me," she suddenly heard herself say flatly, and she wanted badly to take the words back. Tears gathered behind her eyes, as she stared up at him, and waited.  
  
As expected, Draco took her words for what they had subconsciously been - an invitation.  
  
He stepped up to her, and she found she couldn't breathe. For a long moment there was only the muffled sound of the train wheels lapping over the tracks, and then he spoke, his eyes narrowing slightly as he closely watched her, no doubt trying to gauge her reaction so he could jump on her next words.  
  
"What do you want me to say? That I don't? I'll lie to you if that's what you want," he announced carelessly, crossing his arms.  
  
"Why are you in here?" Ginny returned woodenly.  
  
"Really now, have I ever had to have a reason to torment you?"  
  
She felt her skin prickle at his mocking tone.  
  
"Please don't do this."  
  
"Do what, Weasel?"  
  
He observed her unblinkingly, and she had to drop her eyes momentarily to escape his scrutiny.  
  
"You're being childish," she murmured desperately.  
  
"No - childish is telling someone you love them, and then taking it back," he suddenly snarled so fiercely that she instinctively took a step back at the lightning quick transformation in his appearance. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she felt her heels bang into the seat behind her as she moved back yet again as he slowly advanced on her.  
  
Her fear must have shown on her face, for the anger seemed to drain from his pale features as he cut his eyes at her.  
  
"What's wrong, Ginny? Are you scared?"  
  
His taunt made her blush hotly, and she focused on the thin scar marring his high cheekbone. "N - No."  
  
Draco smirked, and the movement drew her attention to his lips. Her longing, confused glance paused seconds longer than it should have.  
  
Of course he noticed, and he leapt on it.  
  
"Want me to kiss you, now, do you?"  
  
Ginny's eyes jumped up to his again, and she shook her head quickly.  
  
"No - "  
  
"Gin, come on - you can't give a guy an invitation like that and expect him not to accept," he said silkily, and unfolded one of his arms to reach out a hand and grasp her small chin.  
  
"Draco, please,"  
  
"You really are scared of me, aren't you? So polite, all of a sudden. What happened to that flame haired, temper mental little brat who had the nerve to challenge me to a duel?"  
  
Ginny couldn't answer - she was too busy making herself look anywhere but at him. Particularly his lips.  
  
What perverse little imp had possessed her to make her send Hermione away?  
  
Draco gave her chin a gentle tug upwards, and her heart stopped dead in her chest as he bent his head and kissed her for the first time in months.  
  
~***~  
  
Draco felt his heart race madly in his chest as he touched his lips to hers against his better judgment. He really had no idea what had come over him to kiss her - it was all he'd been able to think about from the moment he'd stood in the doorway and seen her looking so small and pale and irresistibly vulnerable.  
  
His hand trembled where he had it curled under her soft chin, and he moved it, reaching out blindly to bury it in the wild, sinfully soft mass of warm red curls tumbling in lovely, endless waves over her shoulders.  
  
Her warm lips parted hesitantly under his, and a flood of emotion so strong it made him weak, also made him unwillingly whisper her name against her.  
  
"Ginny."  
  
The rough, agonized sound of his own voice made him flinch, and he pulled away from her hastily, dropping his hand from her hair, hating himself for his sudden clumsiness.  
  
The velvety softness of her large brown eyes looking up at him from beneath her lashes made his heart lurch in his chest in remembered pain.  
  
The compartment door slid open behind him, and he heard Ron Weasley's muffled curse.  
  
"What are you doing in here, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco drew in a harsh breath, and forced an unpleasant smile to his lips. "Just.visiting."  
  
He watched Ginny blink, and take a shuddering breath as well.  
  
"Ginny, are you all right?"  
  
He rolled his eyes at the sound of Harry's lowered voice behind him too.  
  
"I - I'm fine," she got out at last, her eyes dropping from his.  
  
Draco clenched his jaw, and took another step back from her.  
  
"Well, Gin - I'd say it's been nice, but." he gave an elegant shrug, and turned gratefully away towards the door. "I'll see you around, I suppose. Try not to break too many hearts this year."  
  
He paused and looked pointedly at Harry, whose steady green gaze stared back at him with infuriating composure.  
  
Draco felt his smirk falter as he saw a spark of pity in those hated eyes, and he snarled a furious, incoherent curse before pushing past the two boys and disappearing into the corridor beyond.  
  
~***~  
  
"She dealt her pretty words like blades, As glittering they shone, And every one unbarred a nerve Or wantoned with a bone."  
  
Emily Dickinson, Poems  
  
~***~  
  
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  
  
~***~  
  
'All is not well; I doubt some foul play.' -William Shakespeare, Hamlet 1.2.254  
  
~***~  
  
Draco had known the little wrapped box held nothing good the moment he'd returned to his dorm and found it resting on his bed.  
  
It was September twelfth, a little over a week since school had begun. It was the evening of his birthday, but he was the only one who knew, remembered, or even remotely cared.  
  
Gone were the days of the expensive, massive presents his parents would send along to the school, the days when he delighted in showing off his wealth, and selfishly wrote back to his parents in complaint when he received less than he thought he deserved.  
  
His mother had apparently forgotten, or more likely, couldn't be bothered.  
  
Draco stared dumbly down at the note, and the small, open box beside it on his bed, and read the grandly looping script in purple ink again, disbelieving.  
  
"Draco - I know you'll be pleased with this gift. I know you wanted her - I always have, you see, right from the off. You thought you could hide it from everyone else - but you couldn't hide it from me. I saw you - I saw you watching her, always staring at that maddening red hair of hers whenever she was around. You were obsessed with it."  
  
Draco swallowed, his breaths becoming more and more agitated.  
  
"I've left her a lovely surprise to wake to in the morning, my love - can you imagine the look on her face when she realizes her only glory is gone? I wish I could be there to see it..."  
  
He stared at the last line with blurring eyes, literally seeing red.  
  
"Well, you have it now, Draco - I've brought it to you! Happy bloody Birthday."  
  
And the flourishing signature.  
  
"Love Always, Pansy"  
  
The girl wasn't just outright mad - she had a bloody death wish.  
  
Draco could slowly feel rising in him past the shock, a blind, unrestrained fury. He looked down and couldn't help staring again.  
  
A long, impossibly thick, flame red ponytail lay silkily across his lap, and he gently rubbed a smooth, shiny curl between his shaky fingers almost absently, as he watched the fire he sat before bathe the locks in a golden - orange light.  
  
~***~  
  
Ginny's eyes blinked open reluctantly, so heavy were her lids with sleep. In that moment, she wished she'd never woken up - she'd been dreaming, about Draco, but he'd loved her again, and she'd wanted him more then anything just to hold her.  
  
The dream had been so real, so heart achingly perfect, that she'd fought against it ending, and now that it had, she found herself close to tears.  
  
The dorm was still dark, and she sighed in relief as she turned over in her bed, and pushed her cheek into her pillow, closing her eyes again, hoping to go back to sleep.  
  
That was when she noticed her hair wasn't flattened beneath her cheek, or tickling her nose in that annoying way it always did. She opened her eyes again, and frowned, one hand reaching up to run her fingers through her long curls.  
  
Instead of meeting a soft resistance, her fingers passed through coarsely cut, short - cropped curls, and air.  
  
Ginny gasped and sat up, feeling her head with both hands frantically - her hair!  
  
She sobbed out loud, and scrambled off the bed, making enough racket in her haste to get to the bathroom to wake some of the other girls in the sixth year dorm.  
  
Ginny grabbed her wand, and ran into the bathroom, breathing a ragged 'Lumos!' out of her tight throat as she paused, shivering, before a mirror.  
  
Her wand dropped to the stone floor with a clatter a moment later and rolled away into the darkness.  
  
~***~  
  
Draco left the headmasters office with a grim countenance early the next morning.  
  
Ginny was in the Infirmary, being treated for shock.  
  
Harry had told him earlier when he'd finally come to his senses and raced up to the Gryffindor Tower to see for himself if she was all right, that Pomfrey had had initially, to put her to sleep, she'd been so traumatized.  
  
He'd told himself over and over again she wouldn't want to see him, that it might make her feel worse if she knew he'd seen her with her hair butchered. Of course she would feel horrible, who wouldn't - but he had to see her, to make sure she was all right, for himself.  
  
He was nearly driven mad by the fact that he'd let Pansy hurt her - he'd managed to divert many of the threats returning to school had posed her, but Pansy, that bitch had gotten in, gotten by again, somehow, and he felt responsible.  
  
He knew he shouldn't care, shouldn't let himself feel for her, but it was impossible.  
  
Draco tried not to think as he willingly skipped his first class, and made his way to the Infirmary - only to be told by Pomfrey herself at the entrance, firmly, that Ginny wasn't to see anyone.  
  
After the old cow closed the doors in his face, he closed his eyes, and leaned against them in frustration.  
  
"Wouldn't let you in, either, huh?"  
  
Draco opened his eyes and spun around to see - no one.  
  
He blinked, and then cursed, and rubbed his reddened, sleep deprived eyes with the back of his hand.  
  
Someone sighed, and then there was a rustle of fabric, and Potter and Weasley appeared from thin air.  
  
Startled, Draco frowned, and then he noticed the Invisibility cloak hanging from Harry's shoulder.  
  
"What do you want, Malfoy? Come to tease Ginny, have you?"  
  
He watched a red - faced Ron step forward threateningly, and then Harry's arm blocked him.  
  
"I wanted to see if she was all right," Draco muttered scathingly, "not that it's any of your business, Weasley."  
  
Ron pushed Harry's arm out of his way, but the dark haired boy fisted a hand in the back of his friend's robes and dragged him back.  
  
"Relax, Ron - he's not here to hurt her."  
  
"Right, I'll believe that, after all he's put her through - "  
  
"All I've put 'her' through? You must be joking. How about all she's put 'me' through?" Draco snapped angrily.  
  
"Do you have any bloody idea what it's like to wake up one day and realize you've just fallen in love with the enemy? You want to talk about shock and trauma!"  
  
The two boys stared at him, and he glared back, his teeth bared.  
  
Then Harry shook his head, and tossed the cloak at him.  
  
Ron looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"Be back in five minutes," Harry told him flatly. "Don't let her know you're there - you don't tell her, or anyone, you saw her."  
  
"Harry -"  
  
Draco looked at a bewildered Ron and then nodded shortly.  
  
"I'm serious, Malfoy - you say a word - "  
  
"Right, right, or I'll die a horrific death at the hands of the boy who lived. Just keep your sidekick here muzzled long enough for me to get in the bloody door." Draco smirked at a furious but silent Ron, and dragged the cloak over his head before Harry thought better of loaning it to him.  
  
~***~  
  
Ginny was awake, crying, lying in her bed and staring at the ceiling.  
  
Ginny had thought she could handle it; Ron and Harry and Hermione had been at the door earlier, wanting to see her, but she couldn't see them. She couldn't take the curious stares or the pitying glances. And Draco.she'd heard Madam Pomfrey tell him off.  
  
The thought of facing him looking the way she did only made her sob again.  
  
She wasn't a vain person, she really wasn't - but she looked downright hideous. What Pansy had done -  
  
Ginny rolled onto her stomach and cried into her pillow, glad the Infirmary was empty save for her.  
  
"Ginny."  
  
She was half drowned when she heard the indistinct voice - she turned her head to look, and could see no one.  
  
The delicious scent of an expensive cologne lingered in the air, though, confirming the fact that her visitor was unmistakably, breathtakingly male.  
  
She really couldn't place the scent, though it was very familiar.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
"Harry? Is that you?"  
  
"No, it's not 'Harry'," came the low voice again.  
  
Frustrated at her inability to place the soft, deep voice, she wiped at her tears and shook her head.  
  
To her knowledge no one but Harry had an Invisibility cloak at Hogwarts.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want? Did you follow me to see if you could get a glance at my head, so you pass along how horrible it looks to all your friends?" Ginny reached up and touched her patch of ruined curls with a trembling hand.  
  
"There, you've seen it firsthand - now you can go and gossip about it - and don't forget to add the fact that whoever hacked off my hair put a charm on it so that when Pomfrey tried to make it magically re - grow, half of what little there was left, fell out! So go and give away all the sordid little details - " her voice caught on a frustrated sob, and she turned away toward her pillow again.  
  
"Ginny, wait, please.I only wanted to.see that you were all right."  
  
Ginny swept the hood back up over her head and snapped shakily, "Do I look like I'm all right? I'm half bald and being stalked by a boy I can't even see - I'm just smashing, thanks!"  
  
A low laugh rumbled from the shadows, and she paused, looking back over her shoulder.  
  
"How dare you laugh at me?" She asked, outraged.  
  
"You'd be surprised by just how much I'd dare," the voice said with dark humor.  
  
"Draco?" Silence met her claim. She dragged her blanket half over her head in horror, and then she got angry.  
  
"Was it you? Were you and Pansy working together? Do you hate me that much? Did you do this to me?" Her voice shook with rage. "What did you do with it? Where is my hair?"  
  
"Do I look the bloody lost and found? Why would I cut off all of your hair? It was beautiful right where it was."  
  
Ginny's angry expression faltered, and her shoulders drooped beneath her blankets. He made no move to reveal himself, and she was glad. She didn't think she could handle actually watching him look at her.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"I already told you - I wanted to see for myself that you were okay. Don't be upset."  
  
Her distress was evident in her voice as she whispered, "Why would she do this? I haven't done anything to her - I mean, I hardly even knew her, and all the things she's done to me. I don't understand it. I'm nobody.I couldn't have done anything."  
  
"It's not your fault - you didn't do anything, Ginny. Pansy is an ugly, petty, jealous bitch."  
  
"Jealous? Of me?" Ginny laughed tearfully in disbelief. "Right. Who would be jealous of me? A poor girl, with orange hair and ragged clothes -"  
  
"You don't even know how lovely you are," he commented gently in a barely audible tone that made her start crying again.  
  
"Don't cry.oh, for God's sake, woman, Dumbledore said it'll only take about a month for Pansy's charm to wear off - and then Pomfrey can do her thing, and your hair will be fine again."  
  
"A month? A month! What the hell am I supposed to do until then?"  
  
"I'll get you a really big hat - "  
  
"Oh, go away."  
  
"Not until I know you're going to be all right," he stated with infuriating stubbornness.  
  
Ginny sniffed, and wiped her eyes with her blanket. "I'm just so tired, Draco. I'm tired of all of this. I don't know how much more I can take."  
  
"Look at how much you've made it through already," he said carefully.  
  
"Only because you were there through most of it," she confessed, finding it easier to talk to him now that she didn't have to look at him. "I think you keeping me angry is what did it. Half of the time I was too busy thinking of nasty things to say to you to be scared of anything that happened. I never thought I'd fall in love with you, I just thought I was finally losing it - "  
  
He drew in a sharp breath, and she immediately knew she'd said something wrong.  
  
"Draco, I'm so sorry I - I wasn't thinking."  
  
"I have to go,"  
  
"Wait, I want to apologize. For what I said, at Christmas." Ginny ducked her head and closed her eyes. "I do love you. Honestly. I love you more then I ever thought I could love anyone. So much that it scares me."  
  
"Gin - "  
  
She heard the Infirmary doors suddenly open then, and Ginny gasped as Madam Pomfrey walked in around the screen around her bed.  
  
She sat rigid, waiting for Pomfrey to notice Draco, but if she did, she didn't mention it.  
  
"Oh, Miss, you're awake. How are you feeling, dear?"  
  
"I'm.better."  
  
Ginny swallowed, and managed a weak smile as she looked over the stout woman's shoulder and the edge of the screen, and watched the doors swing open and shut again.  
  
He'd called her 'lovely'.  
  
~***~  
  
(A/N: I have absolutely NO idea when Draco's birthday really is - I totally made that date up. If anyone does know, tell me, so I can correct it. Okay, here's the rough part - asking you guys to review and tell me whether or not this chapter worked, or if it was just awkward and lame. I need your opinions! Now - on to the next chapter! ^-^ ~ Lee)  
  
TBC ( 


	14. 14. Sweet Vengeance

14. Sweet Vengeance  
  
~***~  
  
Disclaimer: Take a wild guess. No, it's not mine.  
  
~***~  
  
(A/N: Okay, I'm telling you now, I upped the rating on this chapter to 'R' - so be warned!!! ^_^)  
  
~***~  
  
Ginny repositioned herself restlessly in her bed. She couldn't sleep. She guessed she was nervous about finally returning to her classes the next day.  
  
After a few minutes, she decided her common sense must have disappeared with her hair, and she dragged herself from her bed, pulling on a pair of blue denim jeans and a red jumper. She slipped her shoes on, and picked up a worn gray cloak from where it lay draped across the chair next to her bed. She was tugging the hood over her head when she heard her stomach rumble loudly.  
  
'Well,' she thought, leaving the dorm, and then the common room, 'the night didn't have to be a total waste.'  
  
She hesitated in the drafty, darkened corridor outside the tower, and then made her way silently to the stairs.  
  
~***~  
  
Draco had been too distracted earlier that evening to bother eating - and for once it was his growling stomach and not a disturbingly recurring dream about Ginny that woke him late that night.  
  
He made his way sleepily into the kitchens, almost too tired to bother keeping out a watch for Filch and his dusty rat of a cat, in search of something to eat, his school robes hanging open over his clothes.  
  
What he saw as he entered made him withdraw immediately into a shadowy corner before any of the house elves could even spot him.  
  
Ginny Weasley was standing in front of one of the massive stoves, a book open on one hand, that she was reading, and her wand in the other hand, which she was using to absently stir the contents of a large, bubbling cauldron.  
  
The mouth - watering scent of melted chocolate drifted to him, and his stomach rumbled loudly.  
  
He rested a strong, lean hand across his abdomen and rolled his eyes. He did not like chocolate, he reminded himself.  
  
Draco watched with interest as Ginny put down the book, and stood on her toes to look over the edge of the pot at its contents.  
  
He noticed she had removed her hooded cloak, and stood bare headed, apparently untroubled by the oddness of her appearance, comfortable in the large room full of busy house elves.  
  
One, whom he recognized as being Dobby, his father's previous servant, scampered up to Ginny with a tattered muggle baseball cap in his large, bony fingers.  
  
She looked down at the elf with a beautific smile, and knelt on one knee, placing a soft kiss on his pointy little head.  
  
She said something soft that he couldn't hear, and Dobby bowed and skittered away.  
  
Draco watched Ginny eye the faded blue cap with a sigh, and then she shrugged, and slapped it on, twisting the brim around backwards.  
  
He had to hold back a smile at the unusual sight. It disturbed him though, to realize he still found himself feeling so much at the sight of her, even without her long red tresses -  
  
He cut his thought short as he caught sight of her licking something delicately from her finger with a small pink tongue, and everything in his world skidded to a complete halt.  
  
"Ah - Master Draco! Is Sir hungry? Dobby is being very glad to see you, Sir -"  
  
Draco looked down distractedly and saw the little house elf practically dancing at his feet. He crouched down and clamped a hand over Dobby's mouth, shaking his head.  
  
After he let go, Dobby blinked his huge green eyes, and then ducked his head.  
  
"Ah, Dobby is understanding now, Sir," he continued in a low whisper. "Sir is not going to hurt Miss Ginny, though, is he? Miss has been through very much, she is so kind -"  
  
"Of course I'm not going to hurt her, you fool," Draco snapped lowly, his blond brows furrowed over his clear, piercing silver eyes. "I only came to grab a bite - I didn't even know she was here!"  
  
"Why is you hiding then, Master?"  
  
"I'm not your master anymore, Dobby - don't call me that." Draco muttered this impatiently as he looked up to watch Ginny once more.  
  
Dobby's large eyes widened even further, and his long ears perked up. "Sir is loving Miss Ginny, I think - Sir is having pain! Dobby can see this! This is surprising Dobby!"  
  
Draco gave the elf a practiced look of disgust. "You must be joking - I don't love her! She's a Weasley!" Not to mention the fact that she'd blown him off completely.  
  
"Yes, Miss is - but Dobby is seeing this!" The little elf looked ill with excitement. "Sir is changing - Sir is no longer the selfish little boy who made Dobby punish himself -"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes again, and grabbed Dobby's ears, pinching them roughly. "I haven't changed elf, don't you dare go about spreading lies about me - if you have one ounce of self - preservation -"  
  
"Oh, Dobby would never, Sir - maybe Dobby is being wrong, Sir!"  
  
Draco gave the elf a fierce glare before letting go of its ears.  
  
Dobby moved a safe distance away, and fingered one of his throbbing ears, his shoulders drooping.  
  
"Sir - Dobby is just wanting Sir to know, Miss is good people - her is gentle, and honest - Dobby is not wanting Miss hurt."  
  
The undertone in the elf's high-pitched voice was a warning. Draco knew that house elves had powerful magic of their own, and he'd seen them in action before.  
  
Draco nodded shortly, and Dobby bowed, the tip of his long nose scraping the floor, before he hurried off to bring him some food.  
  
He took a seat on a bench along the wall behind him, and was content to watch Ginny cook from across the room until Dobby returned. He found himself staring at her perfectly shaped backside every time she bent over to look in an oven, and he ground his teeth.  
  
He watched her withdraw a sheet of chocolate cookies from one, and saw Dobby remove a few from the cookie sheet before he came over to where he sat.  
  
Ginny moved about, thankfully oblivious to his presence.  
  
Draco took the proffered plate of food from Dobby and walked out of the kitchens quickly.  
  
"Changed." He snarled the word as he walked back to the Slytherin common room, disgusted. The elf had hit its head against a wall far too many times.  
  
He settled down to eat once he returned, and found himself staring suspiciously at the freshly baked chocolate cookies to one side of his golden plate. Dobby knew he wasn't fond of chocolate, and eating cookies had always seemed just so unforgivably adolescent to him.  
  
Draco picked one up with a sigh, studied it, and then took a bite out of it hesitantly, and almost moaned. It was rich, dark and warm, and absolutely sinful - and he'd eaten all four of them before he even knew it.  
  
The rest of the food looked as appetizing as sawdust compared to Ginny's cookies, and he shoved the plate aside, staring moodily into the fireplace in front of him.  
  
She had told him she was sorry. That she did love him.  
  
He shook his head angrily. He wasn't falling for it again.  
  
Who the hell did she think she was that she could throw those words back at him? What did she expect him to do? Had she thought all would be forgiven, that they'd live happily ever after?  
  
He knew better than anyone that there was no such thing.  
  
Draco scowled and settled back against the couch cushions.  
  
"Love her," he snarled again, in disgust. He didn't love her - he never really had. It had just been a sorry lack in judgment, all of it. And if he felt compelled to watch over her, felt protective of her, it was just because he had taken a bit of a grudging liking to Molly.  
  
What did that stupid little house elf know about anything, anyway?  
  
~***~  
  
'The Prince Of Darkness Is A Gentleman.' -William Shakespeare, King Lear 3.4.147  
  
~***~  
  
She came to him again that night, after he'd finally fallen asleep on the low black couch in the common room.  
  
Draco tried to wake himself, knowing it was just another dream, but still unwilling to let her exert the mysterious power she seemed to have over him. He tried to turn away from her, but it was no use. He craved the touch of her body against him more and more every time she visited him. But she was just a dream.  
  
Something was different, though, he could sense it. Something was wrong about her.  
  
Draco shifted and gasped harshly as he felt her soft hands skim across his bare chest, and further down, over his abdomen.  
  
He saw glimpses of her in the dying firelight as she moved over him; saw the red tendrils of her hair brushing the tops of her breasts, and her fingertips as she slid the black straps of her satiny gown from her shoulders.  
  
He felt her lips of the side of neck, and then her tongue, and his heart thudded painfully in his chest. He caught his breath as she slithered down his body, and her thumbs hooked in the waistband of his silk pajama bottoms, and pushed them down over his hips with a boldness he hadn't even known she possessed.  
  
Draco heard his breathing become ragged as she kneeled between his legs, and kissed her way up the suddenly trembling insides of his thighs.  
  
He caught her hair in his fists before her hot mouth reached its goal.  
  
This wasn't Ginny.even in his dreams she'd remained shy and innocent, letting him instigate everything that happened between them.  
  
Draco blinked until he was fully awake, and he found himself staring into Ginny's narrowed, velvety brown eyes.  
  
A snarl curled his lips as he stared down at her, and he pulled her up by her hair, forcing her to sprawl across his chest.  
  
He brought her head down, and kissed her brutally, drawing blood.  
  
She didn't even taste the same.  
  
The girl moaned against him, and he thrust her away, nearly throwing her from the couch.  
  
Draco rolled, and snatched his wand from beneath his robes which he'd pillowed his head on, coming up on his knees to face her.  
  
"Pansy," he commented sneeringly, his chest heaving. He could smell it now, her perfume, that nauseatingly strong scent she'd always worn.  
  
The nearly nude girl spat an epithet at him, drawing herself up from the floor in a cloud of pricey black satin and red curls.  
  
"I always knew you weren't the sharpest quill in the bunch, Parkinson, but you've outdone yourself tonight."  
  
"You're a fool, Draco!"  
  
Draco slid off the couch and lazily wrapped a long silk robe around himself, tying the belt about his waist in a loose knot. He leaned against one of the massive columns supporting the mantle near the fireplace and crossed his arms, eyeing her with cool disgust.  
  
"You're the fool, Pansy - only a slut like you would think an innocent like Ginny Weasley would wear black satin," he drawled, smirking at her. "You're an even bigger fool for thinking I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Tell me - where did you get your dirty little hands on Polyjuice potion so quickly?"  
  
The girl held her gown to her breasts, and fairy snarled at him. "I'm not telling you anything - my God you're pathetic, Draco, letting yourself become obsessed with that little nothing! She's as bald as a garden gnome, and still you want her! I can't see what you would want with her, when you can have me instead! You saw her, earlier, she's a shadow of herself, now, cloaked in gray - a nothing color, a shade.not quite so lovely now, is she, Draco, my love?"  
  
Draco usually eschewed any type of physical violence, preferring to rely on the strength of his magic - but in that moment he found himself wanting to bury Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Yet she still receives more attention than ever - far more than you, I might add, and she's also not being hunted by Aurors as we speak. Funny, isn't it?"  
  
He meant for his tone to be light, but it came out more menacing than he'd ever heard himself speak. Draco kept his eyes on Pansy, saw her eyes darken in rage at his words.  
  
He smirked, running his eyes up and down her body coolly.  
  
Pansy's full red lips curled nastily, and her hand fisted at her sides.  
  
"If you aren't careful, Draco, you're going to end up losing me for good!"  
  
"I never had you in the first place, thank God," he muttered coldly, his silver eyes frosty as they raked her. "Besides, I don't have to fear catching anything from her."  
  
Furious, Pansy hissed and turned away, as if to leave, but Draco was before her in an instant, blocking her path.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Pansy?" He asked her in a menacing voice. "Did you really think I was going to let you walk away from this free and clear?"  
  
"W - what are you going to do, Draco? If this is because I cut her hair - "  
  
"You just don't get it do you? This isn't about Weasley," he lied smoothly. Pansy was crazy if she thought he was going to just sit and watch her go. "It's about what you were trying to pull on me. Your trespass isn't going to go unpunished. You really are a fool, if you thought that."  
  
Fear tinged the girls' hard, manic eyes, and Draco suppressed a smile of satisfaction as he loomed over her, pressing her back to the center of the room.  
  
"No.God, Draco - don't you possess even a shred of mercy?" Her hand fumbled for her wand, only to realize she didn't have it near.  
  
He removed his wand from his robe pocket, and watched as the Polyjuice potion suddenly began to wear off before his eyes, until Pansy was back to her usual waspish self.  
  
Draco slowly reached over to an antique roll top desk pushed against one wall, and nonchalantly pulled open a drawer.  
  
Her dark eyes followed his movements nervously, and widened in horror as he withdrew a wickedly sharp looking pair of scissors, which glinted in the firelight.  
  
A demonic smile curved his lips as he advanced on her in an unhurried manner.  
  
"Mercy? Sorry Pansy. I don't have any to give."  
  
The scissors opened and closed with a shirring snap, and he paused, running his pale eyes over the luxuriant, sleek fall of her long dark brown hair consideringly.  
  
"I believe you're in rather desperate need of a trim, Parkinson."  
  
~***~ TBC 


	15. 15. Wounded

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot, I swear!

~***~

15. Wounded

~***~

_"Pain has an element of blank;_

_It cannot recollect_

_When it began, or if there were_

_A day when it was not._

_It has no future but itself,_

_Its infinite realms contain_

_Its past, enlightened to perceive_

_New periods of pain."_

_- Emily Dickinson_

~***~

Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron were on their way to breakfast early the next morning when Draco stalked through the hall.

The black expression on his face made Ginny flinch as he walked past her without a glance or even a word – then she noticed the girl he was dragging along behind him by the wrist, and gasped in horror.

"Pansy!"

The girl seemed so out of it, she didn't even acknowledge Ginny's exclamation.

A small crowd of curious, aghast students followed at a safe distance behind, some giggling behind their hands, some laughing outright, some, still wary of Ginny, going out of their way to keep from stepping too near her.

The slights were completely lost on Ginny, for once. She felt her mouth fall open as she stared after Draco's straight, rigid back and the totally cowed girl stumbling behind.

Pansy's long dark hair had been completely sheared off!

~***~

Ginny was breathing heavy by the time she managed to push past the growing crowd of students waiting outside the way in to Dumbledore's office.

Harry, Hermione, and her brother pulled up beside her, and she looked hopelessly at the stone statue guarding the entrance.

"Does anyone know the password?" Ginny asked a bit desperately. She had to know what had happened!

A sudden shrill scream pierced the air, only to be cut off abruptly.

The crowd of students took a step back in unison, gasping, with eyes wide.

There was an explosion of broken glass, and the sounds of a muffled struggle before someone apparently cast a silencing charm and all was quiet.

"What's going on up there?" Ginny asked frustrated, in a near panic. The look on Draco's face as he had passed her had been so vicious she found herself actually fearing for Pansy, even after all the things she'd done to her -

She shook her head to clear the rise of nightmarish memories, and watched Harry look at Ron and shrug.

"I guess Draco doesn't like screaming…"

Ginny brought her hands up over her face with a low, disbelieving groan. "Oh, God – he's finally lost it! He's gone and murdered her!"

The statue suddenly leapt aside, and several girls shrieked in surprise.

Her heart in her throat, Ginny swallowed as she saw Draco step out into the hallway.

A pair of bloody, raw looking scratches furrowed across his taut, lean jaw, and the silvery eyes that he turned on the crowd were full of dark shadows and smoldering with fury.

The suspense was so that when he took a threatening step forward, the crowd started and as if on cue, quickly dispersed and disappeared.

Ginny found herself hesitant to approach him, he looked so fierce, but even as she watched, a weariness seemed to appear in him, as the last of the curious onlookers left. He looked exhausted, but intent on hiding it, and she felt her heart melt.

For a moment she saw the boy she'd fallen in love with, and then she spoke – and he again disappeared.

"Draco? Are you all right?"

His cold, pale eyes flickered over to her, and barely rested on her before he turned away, clearly dismissing her. He walked away, wearing his cold reserve and superiority like a cloak.

Ginny felt her mouth fall open as she stared after him, hurt filling her eyes with burning tears.

Then she got angry.

~***~

"Draco Malfoy, don't you dare walk away from me like that!"

Draco didn't even pause.  

Ginny gritted her teeth and hurried to catch him up, feeling frustrated and breathless.

Her hand caught his shoulder, and tugged sharply.

"Stop!"

Draco turned on her, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ginny swallowed hard, but stood her ground. She bit back the angry words that came without thought to her tongue, and took a deep breath.

"I know you heard me!"

A disturbing, unsettling smirk curled his lips, and he nodded slowly.

"I heard – I was just taking a page from your book, Gin. You're _so_ excellent at walking away."

_"I told you I was sorry!"_

He looked her over in an insulting manner before turning away again.

"You certainly are."

She was so stricken by the coldly murmured words, she stood dumbly for a minute, and then hurried to catch up to him again. 

"What happened up there?"

"I caught Parkinson, I took her to Dumbledore – end of story," murmured Draco carelessly.

"W – what did she do to you? What happened to her hair? How did you catch her? Why didn't you just stun her? You didn't have to embarrass her like that – "

Draco stopped with a harsh sigh, looking inhumanly icy and vastly bored.

"You want to know what happened? Fine, I'll tell you. I woke up, and she was on top of me," he stated crudely. 

Ginny gaped at him, eyes wide in shock, her throat tightening at the painful mix of emotions racing through her.

"S - he – she – she – "

Draco regarded her impatiently through hooded eyes.

She dropped her eyes, and stared at the floor.

 He'd – he'd –

 With Pansy? 

_Pansy?_

Her throat closed up completely, making it impossible for her to speak. _Was it even possible to hurt like this?_

He was lying – he had to be.__

What had just happened? 

"Do you want details?" She heard him ask cruelly.

_'I'm going to throw up…'_

Too hurt and nauseous to move, Ginny stood very still, head bowed behind the full hood of the cloak she wore to hide the state of her hair. She very dimly heard him make a disgusted noise after a moment, and walk away.

Pansy would have been hysterical – Draco had just hurt her more than anything she or Voldemort and his Death Eaters had ever tried.

~***~

Ginny watched numbly from a high window as down in the courtyard a magically stunned Pansy was escorted off by a pair of Aurors from the ministry. The high, ancient stone walls of Hogwarts, outlined in the rapidly setting autumn sunlight threw long, oddly slanted, melancholy looking shadows across the troubling scene, and she felt her chest ache in reaction.

Pansy would no doubt be sent to Azkaban. Ginny almost envied the girl for a moment. Some of the threat had been removed with her capture, but Voldemort seemed to still be the deciding factor in both her and Draco's fates.

Ginny found herself gripping the mark on her forearm out of what had become habit, and she wished there was something she could do to make it disappear forever. Looking at it was like waking up from a nightmare only to find the beast you'd been running from was yourself. The hideous thing made her skin crawl, and she never really felt proper…

_Do you want details?_

Was she never going to learn her lesson when it came to Draco?

He'd been so – well, almost – sweet when he'd snuck into the Infirmary to see her…God, he was so contrary all the time, running hot and then cold, and every damn time she got her hopes up, he slammed them back down –

'None of this would have happened if you hadn't lied to him on New Years, you idiot,' she berated herself mournfully. 

It made her sick, thinking he had let that bitch Pansy touch him…she wished she could just forget she even knew. Subconsciously she'd thought of Draco as being hers, even though she'd told him she didn't love him –

It was all such a huge, mixed up, bloody mess.

Turning away from the deep stone window embrasure, feeling ill, Ginny sighed, and made her way reluctantly down to the Great Hall.

~***~

Draco found himself watching Ginny's small, hooded figure across the tables that evening at dinner. She was surrounded by those who seemed to care most for her, but she may as well have been alone, she struck such a lonely, solitary pose.

Pansy had been right about one thing – Ginny had become a shadow of herself since the past year.

It had hurt him to look into her eyes and see the evidence of those changes haunting her. So he'd gone and done what he did best – he lashed out at her, for making him feel what he didn't want to - and succeeded in making her withdraw into herself even more.

He shouldn't have done it - but being a complete rat bastard was the only thing he was truly good at.

Well, maybe not the only thing, he amended thoughtfully, staring at Ginny's delicate, shadowed features, feeling a slight, confident smirk come to his lips.

He could also probably drink that great oaf Hagrid under the table.

Now _there_ was something Lucius would have been proud of…

Draco clenched his jaw at the errant thought, and then watched Ginny abruptly rise and excuse herself.

He was standing reflexively when he saw Potter get up almost immediately to follow her.

Immediately suspicious, Draco crossed his arms and stepped very slowly and deliberately away from the Slytherin table. A hot crimson tide of fury swept down the length of his spine as he saw Potter catch Ginny up, and rest a hand on her shoulder.

He felt his brows lower as a dark frown stole across his face, and he stared after the two retreating figures with a sudden unwelcome and unwanted, feeling of raging jealousy.

What the bloody hell was going on _there?_

~***~

Scowling, Draco moved silently over the grass of the deserted courtyard, following the pair closely.

He saw  them pause under an ancient oak, watched Ginny stare at her feet, and Potter kick a pile of fall leaves nervously, his hands in his pockets.

Draco studied them angrily from behind a huge marble column, leaning one shoulder against the cold stone.

Ginny was saying something, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Damn it anyway.

He watched them for a moment longer, frustrated, and was about to turn away in disgust when _it_ happened.

He actually brought up his hands to rub his eyes at the sight.

That speccy git was snogging Ginny!

_His_ Ginny! And what was worse, Ginny seemed to be enjoying it! 

Even as he watched, she brought her hands up to clutch at his shoulders – her small, dainty, soft little fingers dove into that shaggy dark hair –

Draco spat a foul curse and blindly drove his fist into the stone column, which, very unfortunately, did not give. He heard a loud crunch and felt an explosion throbbing in his hand that ran all the way up to his shoulder.

Hissing, he grimaced, baring his teeth at the crushing pain. But he could barely notice it after a moment, so furious was he. Watching them embrace against the hazy purple twilight made him feel absolutely murderous.

Draco felt a trickle of blood run across his swelling, scraped knuckles, and absently flicked it off, forcing his hand back into a  tight fist.

Gritting his teeth, he allowed his gaze to rake Ginny's slight, lovely form one last time before he shook his hair from his eyes and slowly withdrew back into the deepening shadows, his eyes burning silver in the low light.

~***~

_"Never love unless you can_

_Bear with all the faults of man:_

_Men sometimes will jealous be,_

_Though but little cause they see;_

_And hang the head of discontent,_

_And speak what straight they will repent."_

_-Thomas Campion, Advice To A Girl_

~***~

"Mmph – Harry! _Stop!"_

Ginny finally succeeded in pushing the boy away and stood looking up at him with flushed cheeks and wide, confused eyes

_"What are you doing?"_

Harry took a deep breath, ignoring her, staring over her shoulder with an unsettlingly triumphant expression.

Ginny frowned and turned just in time to see Draco's tall, retreating figure in the distance. She could barely make out the gleam of his sleek blond hair in the gathering night.

Her mouth fell open and she looked back at Harry.

_"Are you insane?"_

"Let's see how long he ignores you after seeing that," Harry said in satisfaction.

"Harry! What were you thinking!"

"That he'd be pissed and do anything to get you away from me?" Harry stuck his hands in his pockets and arched a brow above his glasses.

"Y – you did that to get his attention?" She stared at him.

"He's being an ass, Ginny – you'd have to be blind not to see you two are miserable not being together," he finally said after a long moment of regarding her. "You don't think we haven't noticed how he stares at you?"

She shook her head in bemusement. "We?" She asked faintly.

"Harry – It's complicated. Draco, he doesn't feel as much for me as you might think. Besides, haven't you ever heard that saying? _'A person may fancy a snake is beautiful, but only a fool would try and claim one.' "_

"Ginny. You weren't there when he found out you'd been missing. I was. You didn't see him running around like mad, looking for you. I was with him – he didn't sleep for three nights in a row." Harry regarded her with serious emerald eyes, his voice low and even. "I'll be the first to agree, he's a prat of the first order, but he nearly offed himself trying to find you."

Confused, Ginny dropped her eyes to stare at the grass at her feet. She'd known they'd spent a lot of time looking for her, but…she couldn't imagine Draco acting so selfless. He'd always been so selfish, so self-involved, and so quick to push the blame for his actions on others…

"He hates me," she mumbled weakly, feeling a cool breeze brush her heated cheeks.

"He wants to," Harry agreed ruthlessly from above her. "But he doesn't. The stupid git is in love with you – he just won't admit it."

Ginny looked back at him with teary eyes. "But he has, he did."

"What?"

Sighing, she told him about what had happened on New Year's Eve.

He looked at her incredulously. "Geez, Ginny – _are you crazy? _It's no wonder he's been acting like a dragon with a sore fang all year!"

"Tell me – tell me you wouldn't have done that very same thing, if you thought it would keep others safe!" She stated in an accusing tone.

Harry flushed slightly, and then cleared his throat, pacing thoughtfully in a slow circle around the huge tree. "All right – but you need to get this straightened out. Everything's in a tangled knot around here enough as it is."

"Harry, why are you so concerned about this? You have worries enough of your own," Ginny asked hopelessly.

The tall, dark haired boy who'd once held her childish heart paused, leaned one shoulder against the tree, and peered around the trunk at her. 

"If I hadn't been friends with Ron none of this would have happened to you, you know," he said reluctantly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry Potter, don't you dare. Everyone who's ever come to know you has come off the better for it."

"Not…not Cedric."

The words were spoken so lowly she barely caught them. "How many times will you punish yourself for his death? _You had no control over what happened, Harry."_

"Gin – "

"No, Harry," she said gently, walking around to lay her hands on his chest. "You weren't responsible."

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree. 

"When will it be enough Harry? Will a lifetime of blaming yourself make up for what happened? Because it won't bring him back – and you know better than to think he'd blame you."

Ginny took a step back, and waited. He straightened up, and inhaled deeply.

"Just go talk to that git, will you? And for God's sake, don't let him walk away until you have some kind of understanding – or I _swear_, I'll lock you two up in a room together."

Ginny smiled suddenly. "Too late – it's already been done – and it didn't work then, either."

"I'll think of something else then," he said impatiently, making a shooing motion.

"I don't think I'm ready for this," she commented nervously, looking back at the suddenly sinister looking castle looming out of the dark sky. Diamond stars winked at her from behind the misty cloud cover moving in. It looked as if it would storm that night.

"Go, Ginny. Things will look better in the morning."

Ginny gave Harry a doubtful look, and moved away across the courtyard.

_"If I still have a throat in the morning they will,"_ she mumbled peevishly.

Harry stood outside for a long time after she disappeared, staring thoughtfully at the night sky before he finally dropped his head and trudged through the piles of fall leaves back to the castle.

~***~

Ginny found Draco in front of the glass display case in the hall outside of the trophy room.

She approached him slowly, warily watching the trembling tenseness of his shoulders and the muscles of his back.

He appeared to be staring at something in the case – Ginny craned her neck slightly and saw that it was the collection of plaques and awards Harry had accumulated over the past years – the collection that Harry still blushed about in dismay whenever they passed in the hall and saw the new first years _ooohing_ and _ahhhing_ over it.

She swallowed, and drew herself up, opening her mouth – but she didn't know at all what to say.

That was when she noticed the blood slowly dripping down his hand and onto the flagstone floor.

"Draco, what happened?" She asked on a gasp, reaching out to touch his arm.

He didn't bother to turn, or to shake off her touch. "Don't touch me."

Ginny immediately dropped her hand, and stepped back, stung. The unexpected, obvious tremor in his voice made her chest ache.

Harry had gone a bit too far, that much was obvious.

She watched his back for a moment longer, and then shook her head, pulling a clean white handkerchief from her robe pocket.

"Let me wrap that up for you until you can get up to the Infirmary – "

"If you want to continue breathing, you'll leave me the hell alone," he snarled softly under his breath.

A cold chill washed over her skin, and she nearly dropped the linen in her hand.

"Draco – "

He did turn on her then, his eyes glittering fiercely, wispy strands of silky white blond hair falling across them.

"Did you hear me, Weasley? Or maybe you're just too stupid to care that I'm about five seconds away from squeezing that contrary little throat of yours with my bare hands. Did Parkinson remove some brain cells along with your hair?"

He never raised his voice above a whisper, but that was what nearly undid her. She stared at him dumbly, fear making her mute. She'd thought she'd seen Lucius Malfoy at his worst – he had nothing on his son.

Was this what Pansy had seen?

The memory of the girls face as she'd passed that morning in the hall made her shiver.

"Draco, I – it wasn't what you think – "

"Oh? I didn't just see you with Potter's cursed _tongue_ halfway down your bloody _throat?"_ Draco growled, his eyes focusing on her dangerously.

"He's always winning – everything! At Quidditch, popularity – always favored by the teachers and adored by anything with half a brain. The trophies aren't enough – now he's got to have you too – "

"Draco, you're not thinking clearly," Ginny said carefully, taking another step away.

He was scaring her. His eyes had taken on a strange light, and he was seemingly oblivious to the ruined state his hand was in – her eyes dropped momentarily to the purple, angry swelling and seeping lacerations, and she winced.

" – and I thought I hated you before," he was saying bitterly.

Ginny's mouth dropped open in outrage. "Excuse me? Who spent the night with Pansy?"

Draco stalked forward and leaned over her, his expression openly intimidating. "You idiot! For God's sake, Weasley – I didn't _screw_ Pansy! You think I'd willingly touch her?"

"Y – you didn't?"

"Hell, no. I asked if you wanted details, remember? I was perfectly willing to explain – "

"Explain? _Willing?_ I almost had to draw blood to get you to say _that_ much, you lying ferret! You knew exactly what I would think – you knew I'd think you – y-you…that you and she had – "

"Had sex?"

Ginny went red in the face and gritted her teeth. "I can't believe you!"

"Yeah, well I can't believe you either – snogging _Potter_, that four eyed git – haven't you got any self respect?" Draco snapped in disgust.

"He kissed me!" Ginny shouted in exasperation. 

"And you _let_ him!" Draco shouted back in aggravation.

Ginny threw her hands up. "I don't know why I even tried to come and talk to you – I don't know how I could be in love with a guy who'd cut off all of a girl's hair, either!"

Draco crossed his arms, looking furious. "So it was okay when she did it to you?"

"She's crazy, Draco! Completely nutters! I don't think she deserved that – I think you were wrong to do it!"

"Typical Gryffindor," he spat loathingly. "Forgive and forget – turn the other bloody cheek – "

"I'm leaving now!" She snapped, turning away.

"Don't you dare walk away from this – you have no right telling me it was wrong, making assumptions – you have no idea what I felt when I saw her after she gave me your – " He cut himself off with a curse, glaring at her.

She turned back on him, her expression half hidden by her hood. "What?"

He set his jaw and stared back at her stubbornly.

The knowledge hit her like a ton of rocks. 

"She – she_ gave _you my_ hair?"_ Ginny asked in disbelieving awe.

Draco at last swallowed hard and dropped his eyes.

How cruel had that been? Ginny asked herself silently. If he really did still care for her…God, what would she have done if she'd been in his place?

Not knowing if he were alive or dead – or back in Voldemort's grasp…

She probably would have strangled the girl if she'd gotten her hands on her.

Ginny backed up against the wall and stared at Draco. "I'm so sorry – I didn't know…"

His eyes snapped back up to meet hers with a look of incredulity. "_You're_ sorry? What the hell for? It's not your fault Pansy is stark raving mad."

"N – no. I didn't realize what you had gone through," she said numbly. There was too much to think about.

Draco took a hesitant step forward, and she blinked. 

"We need to see to your hand."

He frowned impatiently. "Forget it – we need to talk – "

"Later. Come on." Ginny pushed away from the wall tiredly and motioned for him to follow. He mumbled something beneath his breath but at last fell into step beside her.

"Wait." He said suddenly, stopping and turning her toward him.

Her heart gave a leap as he lowered his head. "What is it?"

He didn't answer. He bent his head, and touched his lips to hers in a slow, unbelievably gentle kiss that was at direct odds with everything he was.

She cautiously wrapped her arms around his waist, and he didn't seem to mind that, so she began sliding her palms up and down his lower back in an instinctive soothing motion that he groaned over. He left her lips to trail small, fiery kisses down her jaw line, and beneath her ear where he breifly nipped at her neck.

She caught her breath as she felt his warm breath on her sensitive ear.

"Bet Potter doesn't make you feel like _this_," he whispered smugly.

It was Ginny's turn to groan. She dropped her arms and took a much needed deep breath.

Draco watched her from beneath his lashes, his lips smirking, but not in their usual mocking way.

She reached out, unnerved by the look he was giving her, and grabbed his uninjured hand. "Come on, before you bleed to death - what did you _do_ to it anyway?"

~***~

TBC ^-^

( A/N: Sorry about the wait, guys. Hope you liked it. Thanks for the reviews and the e-mails!!! ~Lee )


	16. 16 A Sweet Misery

_~*~_

_16. A Sweet Misery_

_~*~_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

_~*~_

_(A/N: Aw, fluff warning ahead. Just for this one chapter though – I wrote this for those of you sending me threats of bodily harm if I didn't update soon. Usually those work, but don't forget to tell me ya love me, too, lol. ^_~ Next one's gonna be longer and much, much darker – hope ya like is one!)_

~*~__

Madam Pomfrey didn't even bother asking what had happened when a solemn Ginny and an unusually temperate looking Draco showed up at the Infirmary doors.

She didn't try to shoo Ginny out, either, as she directed Draco to sit on the end of one of the beds and take off his school robes.

Ginny hovered near, feeling tired and worn. She found herself automatically taking Draco's robes and draping them neatly over her arm when he peeled them off – not even noticing that it was somewhat of a wifely gesture she'd seen her Mum do for her Dad a million times.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue over the state of Draco's hand, but didn't ask for any elaboration. Ginny was surprised when the woman looked right at her and told her to get his cuff and jumper sleeve rolled up while she went and got her supplies.

Draco looked up at her from beneath his brows, a smile barely lifting one corner of his mouth, the type of smile that she'd _never_ seen on his face before.

"She seems to think we're a bit of a couple, doesn't she?" 

Ginny  didn't answer. She carefully laid his robes aside and hesitantly stepped up to the bed, her hip brushing the side of his leg as she gingerly reached for the bloodstained edge of his sleeve.

Draco obligingly held still as she pushed up the sleeve of his jumper, and then unbuttoned the white cuff of his shirt, and folded it back several times until it was above his elbow.

Ginny made sure to keep her head bent to her task, but she found herself staring at his forearm in fascination – she'd seen the ruined mark Voldemort had placed there before, with the scar slashing directly through it – but that wasn't what she was so taken with. Just seeing the bare, lean muscle of his forearm was making her weak, for some reason…maybe it was the simple fact that she'd been the one to bare it.

"Remind you of something?"

Ginny jumped as she realized she'd just run the tip of one finger down the silky skin, and pulled her hand away in embarrassment.

"Sorry – "

Draco caught her wrist in his good hand and tugged her near again – disturbingly near.

"Come on, tell me the truth – were you thinking the same thing I was just now?" He murmured in her ear.

Ginny cleared her throat and kept her face turned from his. She allowed her head to hang just a bit, near his throat, so she could catch that faint, warm scent of his cologne – "I don't know," she murmured back. "What were you thinking about?"

He laughed very softly in her ear, and she closed her eyes, unintentionally turning toward him farther, unknowingly stepping between his knees as she felt his hand slide down from her wrist to rest lightly on her hip.

"Don't you remember? This bed in particular, I believe it was – "

Ginny felt her eyes snap open and she bit the inside of cheek. "Are you talking about – I, er…don't remember," she said weakly, choking slightly.

_Sweet Merlin,_ _did she remember!_

"Come on, Gin," he whispered, pulling back to look down into her eyes. "How could you forget…me, you, hot soapy water – " Ginny shivered and dropped her eyes.  "No? Well…ah. The gray silk boxers ring a bell?"

The sounds of Madam Pomfrey preparing to make her reentrance made Ginny step back hastily, her face flushed a bright, hot red.

Draco looked at her with pure male amusement as Pomfrey walked back in – but his small self-satisfied smirk dropped quickly when the woman began her ministrations.

Ginny put a hand up over her lips to hide her own smile when Draco yelped, and then hissed, and proceeded to whine about the treatment like the spoiled little boy she'd known years earlier.

"Bloody hell – _hey!_ _Ow_…_hey_, I said 'ow!' _That_ _hurts!"_

"Don't you start getting all vocal with _me_, Mr. Malfoy!"

"Ow!"

"Sissy," Ginny teased in hopes of drawing his attention from the pain.

"Sadist," he replied, not missing a beat, sending her a childish death's head glare from beneath lowered brows, one that she was sure had to be worthy of first year Draco.

_"Ow!"_

_"Sissy,"_ Ginny again coughed beneath her breath.

The nurse finished taping up Draco's hand in a moment and straightened, turning her back to him. She winked at Ginny.

"Oh, go on. I've been here _many_ years, m'dears – in a school filled with teenage boys, you really think this is the first injury of this sort I've seen?" The older woman chuckled gaily and wandered off after admonishing Draco to not use the hand until morning.

It was odd seeing a pink flush on Draco's high cheekbones, faint as it was.

Ginny snorted with laughter before she caught herself, and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I don't know what I'm laughing at – I'm confused."

Draco was still staring after the woman in dismay. "What the hell was she talking about? What did she _think_ I had done to – ah…"

"I do _not_ even want to think about _what_ she thought," Ginny announced, curbing another giggle. "I mean, what _do_ teenage boys do with their hands – " she asked innocently.

Draco grinned at her, actually _grinned_ at her, showing off that very slight dimple she rarely saw, and then ducked his head, as if he was embarrassed!

Ginny shook her head and then looked up at the ceiling in wonder. The Infirmary certainly was a place for miracles when it came to Draco.

"Thinking on wishing for another million galleons?" Draco drawled a few moments later.

She looked back at him with an arched brow. "Why not?"

He sighed and motioned back towards his arm.  "It didn't work before, did it? Well – going to make me decent?"

"How is it you can make the simplest things sound so lewd?" Ginny griped, but stepped back over to roll down his sleeve. It was just another excuse to touch him again, really.

She paused after she was done to look at him, and drew in a sharp breath at the heated, intent look in his hooded eyes. 

Ginny wet her lips, and cleared her throat again.  "Well, how does your hand feel now?"

Draco kept his eyes on hers as he deliberately clenched his fist within its bandages. "How do you think, Weasley? It hurts like hell."

"Really?" Immediately her nervousness evaporated in the face of her concern. "Oh, I'm _sorry_…"

"Kiss it better for me?"

Ginny blinked at him, but the expression on his face was so full of suffering she sighed and leaned in to place a quick peck on his hand – and ended up catching his lips instead as he used his hand to push swiftly upwards beneath her chin.

He released a growling sound of abject relief when her lips settled fully against his, and she had to sigh in agreement – it had been far too long since they'd touched like this.

Draco pressed his mouth to hers gently, and then less gently as the kiss wore on. His arm reached out to gather her close, as closely as possible, and she leaned into him more than willingly.

After long minutes, Ginny reluctantly pulled away and dared lay a hand along his jaw.

"We have to do this more often," he told her seriously.

"Why? We fight less when our lips are busy?"

"Not that that isn't a plus…" He absently squeezed her hips with both hands as he smirked at her.

Wait – _both_ hands? Ginny poked him in the abdomen with her index finger accusingly, trying not to pay attention to how hard and flat the muscles were there. "You rat! You made me feel sorry for you! Your hand doesn't hurt at all!"

"No, it doesn't, really…but I got you to kiss me, didn't I?" He stated smugly.

"I would have kissed you if you'd only asked, you know!"

"I _did_ ask," Draco pointed out in defense.

"Draco," Ginny couldn't help but smile and shake her head. 

He leaned in and kissed her hard before sliding off the edge of the bed, and grabbing his school robes. He threw them over one shoulder and held out his undamaged hand to her.

"Come on – I'll walk you back to your tower, princess."

"Hey – you are not supposed to know where our dorms are – "

Draco snorted impatiently and grabbed her hand, leading her out the Infirmary doors. "Right. Like everyone in this school has absolutely no idea that the Slytherin dorms are located somewhere in the dungeons," he announced disgustedly.

Ginny shrugged slightly and fell into step beside him. Her hand felt very small and snug in his – it made her feel safe for the first time in a long while. The emotion was fleeting though, as thunder suddenly boomed overhead.

"Sounds like it's going to start storming," he commented as he led her down the corridor.

Ginny only smiled and tried to ignore the sudden sense of foreboding creeping along her spine as the sky outside at last opened up and unleashed it's fury on the castle.

~***~

TBC


End file.
